Beacon of Justice
by AffectEffect12
Summary: After losing everything that she once loved, a new hero finds herself in a new universe. How will she help the Justice League in their fight against evil? And how will the League help her overcome what she had lost? OC , femslash. [Based on The Invisible Muffin's story "Ben 10: unlimited"]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This story is inspired by The Incredible Muffin's _BEN 10 UNLIMITED_. I do not own anything from DC or anything else in this fic. I would be a very happy person if did, but unfortunately that's not the case. Now without further ado, let's get on with it.**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 1

The skies were gray. The dark clouds were fast approaching. Flashes of lightning and sounds of thunder could be seen and heard from every direction. It didn't matter though, nothing seemed to matter anymore. The only thing that existed at the moment was pain, the pain of suffering… and loss.

She was on her knees in the middle of a field. White rubble both large and small were scattered everywhere as far as the eye can see. The girl hung her head, and tears flowed endlessly from her eyes as she stared at the bright green puddle of liquid in front of her.

"No… no…." was all that escaped her lips in a low whisper as she continued to cry. Why did this happen? Why wasn't she faster? If she had only been faster and stronger, he would still be here with her… They would all be.

The clouds loom ever closer; the sounds of thunder were getting louder. Rain began to fall down into the field. Making small ripples appear in the puddle of liquid. She took her eyes off the puddle and looked at her hands. Her left hand was clutching a plain piece of white cloth. Her right hand was empty, but stained with the same green liquid that was in the puddle in front of her.

She clenched her hands tightly as she squeezed her eyes shut. Her body shaking uncontrollably as she made small whimpers. She had lost everything, she couldn't even understand it. It wasn't fair! Unable to hold it in any longer, she jerked her head upwards and screamed. It was a scream fill with absolute rage and agony. The rain that fell on her face mixed with her tears and flowed down towards the ground. She hung her head again as she finished screaming, her eyes still shut, listening to the pattering of the rain as it bounce off every surface. The thunder was still getting louder, and bright flashes appeared beneath her eyelids. _Yes, _she thought as the thunder and lightning continued at a faster frequency, _yes hit me, please. Everything would be over. The pain will stop, and I get to see them again._ The sounds and flashes were getting louder and brighter, she tilted her head upwards again, with arms spread out in acceptance, waiting for the impending oblivion. _Robin, Jonah, Mom, Dad, A-Ariella, I'll be with you soon. _She remained motionless as she saw a blinding white light, and felt a jolt course through her entire body.

Then everything was consumed by darkness.

* * *

**The city of Metropolis**

She took a large breath. Instantly she knew she wasn't dead, the dead don't need to breathe, and they wouldn't able to feel their heart pounding violently in their chest. Why was she alive? Better yet, why was she denied what she wanted the most? She slowly pulled herself from the ground and surveyed her surroundings. She appeared to be in an alley between two buildings. Odd, considering she was just in an open field laden with rocks everywhere. She couldn't understand how she ended up in a place filled with large skyscrapers.

"Perfect, absolutely perfect," she mumbled sarcastically, "I asked for death, and I end up in a dark alley of all places." She tucked her chin into her hand, trying to make sense of her situation. Until she heard footsteps approaching fast behind her, she turned around to see what was coming her way and blinked confusedly. At the entrance to the alley were two muscular men holding spears in their hands. What caught her attention, though, were the large pair of bird wings that protruded from the men's backs.

"Stop right there human," one man barked, "Show us your identification, or face the consequences." She grimaced and looked up and down at the pair. She was still trying to figure out what had happened to her.

"Show us your identification, human!" the other man ordered impatiently, "We won't ask again." Anger was threatening to boil out of her, but she just sighed, she knew in order to find out where she was; she needed to get out of here. Complying with their demands wouldn't work, and running wasn't an option either. This meant only one thing.

"Sorry, but I'm not in the mood." She finally replied. The two men looked at each other in confusion. The next thing they saw and heard was a dim light followed by a _whoosh. _The two men were sent flying out of the alley, landing unconscious on the other side of the street. She looked up at the night sky and saw a spacecraft floating in the air. _Huh, never even noticed it until now _she narrowed her eyes as surveyed the ship. _Those fighters are in a defensive formation around that ship, there could be something on it that can help me. _She made her decision; after tying the piece of cloth on her left leg, she bent down slightly and sprung off the ground, flying towards the spacecraft at breakneck speeds.

**Thanagarian Prison Ship**

Separated in holding cells were six members of the Justice League, some of Earth's mightiest heroes. They were defeated because one of their own, Sheyera Hol, formerly known as Hawkgirl, betrayed them and gave their weaknesses to the Thanagarians. Lying in a cell surrounded by red sun radiation was Superman, the Man of Steel. In another prison cell was Wonder Woman, the Amazon Princess of Themyscira, she was tied to a metal pillar by her own indestructible Lasso of Truth. Next to her cell, the Fastest Man Alive, aka the Flash, was being held to the ground by the increased gravity in his cell. Across from Flash in another cell was J'onn J'ozz, known to the world as the Martian Manhunter, bound with metals he couldn't phase through with his intangibility. The last two cells in the holding chamber held Batman, Gotham city's Dark Knight and the World's Greatest Detective, while the other held John Stewart, also known as The Green Lantern. He was sitting curled up in a ball. His face contorted with anger and shame. The Lantern didn't have his ring, therefore he was powerless. Batman was simply handcuffed and wasn't considered much of a threat. All six Leaguers were dead silent in their respective holding cells, the sense of defeat and failure hanging over them.

The silence was broken when the Thanagarian guard patrolling the chamber grunted and fell over unconscious. The Leaguers all tried to see what happened, but only saw the knocked-out guard.

"Ooookay," the Lantern said slowly, "What just happened?" Wonder Woman continued to look in confusion when the barrier in her holding cell vanished, and then suddenly something phased into view directly in front of her. The Amazon gasped loudly at the surprise.

"Wonder Woman!" the Manhunter yelled in concern.

"Hey! What's going on in there?" The Flash questioned.

Wonder Woman didn't respond to her teammates, she just stared in awe at the person in front of her. Standing before Diana was a teenage human-looking girl with long straight snow-white hair that ended below her shoulder blades. She was wearing an unzipped white, short-sleeved jumper jacket, with a blue compression shirt the sleeves ending just before it hits her elbows. She had on a pair of tight fitting black gloves. She wore a black micro-skirt, and a pair of navy blue compression shorts. Lastly, she wore black knee high boots with low wedged heels; a piece of white cloth was wrapped around the top of her left knee. The girl had stunning sky blue eyes and… and a thin vertical scar running down her left eye.

"Based on everything I've seen so far," the girl began in a soft calming voice, "Those bird-men out there are the enemy. Am I right?"

"Y-yes, we're the Justice League; we protect the earth and her people," Wonder Woman finally spoke up. The white haired girl blinked for a moment. _What's the Justice League? I'm on Earth? The heck is going on here? _She shook off her thoughts after she realized those are questions for later. She simply nodded at the older woman and grabbed the lasso as she knelt down. The second later, lasso turned from gold to see-through, light was passing through it as if it wasn't even there. The girl stood up, yanking the lasso as she did so. In one swift motion, the bonds that held Wonder Woman phased out of her and the pillar. She looked down with amazement until she saw the girl extend a hand.

Smiling, Diana accepted it, allowing the girl to pull her to her feet. The young girl handed her lasso back to her, and Wonder Woman reattached it to her hip. The girl couldn't help but notice that all the Amazon wore was a red, white, and blue leotard, a pair of high heeled boots, a golden tiara, and two silver bracelets. She also noticed how well-built the Amazon was. In short the princess was the perfect mix of brawn and beauty.

"Thank you," Diana said, "I'm Wonder Woman, what's your name?"

The white haired girl opened her mouth slightly before she furrowed her eyebrows and jerked her head behind her. A split second later, the chamber door opened and a squad of Thanagarian soldiers rushed inside. "Hurry, get your friends out, I'll handle them," she hurried out of the cell and met the soldiers head on; she punched and kicked all of them with blinding speed. She was blocking every attack with complete ease. As the number of unconscious Thanagarians steadily rose, Diana freed her captive teammates.

"Who's your new friend?" asked the Flash, shaking his arms to regain sensitivity. Wonder Woman merely shook her head.

"I know about as much as you do."

With the rest the League free, they rushed in to help the one that came to their rescue. During the fight, the white haired girl noticed that four of the Leaguers seemed to have superpowers. The Flash ran through the Thanagarian soldiers with his awesome speed. Wonder Woman had the ability to fly and processed super strength. The one call Superman had all of that and was able to emit laser beams from his eyes, and Martian Manhunter had super strength, and was able to become intangible, similar to her. When the Martian becomes intangible, he blended slightly with his surroundings. When she becomes intangible, she blended perfectly with her surroundings. She also noticed that even though neither Batman nor Green Lantern had powers, both were still extremely effective in combat.

The fight turned quickly into just a no-nonsense beating. As the heroes finished off the remaining Thanagarians, they were surprised by another group of soldiers fast approaching from behind. Wonder Woman was the first to react, deflecting the shots of energy that came from the soldier's spears with her metal bracelets. Things were going smoothly until the girl noticed a rather large Thanagarian packing an even larger cannon. Of which the barrel was slowly getting brighter as it prepared to fire its shot.

The white-haired girl widened her eyes. "Look out!" she shouted as the cannon fired a huge blast of energy towards the heroes. The young girl blurred in front of Diana and the other heroes. There was an explosion followed by a thick layer of smoke. The Thanagarian soldier that fired the cannon expressed a smirk, however, as the smoke cleared his expression quickly changed to complete shock. The heroes, instead of being incapacitated, were standing completely unharmed. Their eyes fixed on the girl in front of them, and the large flat blue disk of swirling energy that emitted from the hand of her raised right arm.

"Nice try," the girl remarked with furrowed brows as the disk shrank and eventually disappeared, but she kept her arm raised, "Now it's my turn," a small bright blue sphere appeared in front of her palm. A millisecond later, a blue energy beam zoomed towards the Thanagarian soldiers; hitting the wall directly behind them. The blast blew a giant hole through the ship, and knocked the squad of Thanagarians unconscious. The young girl turned back to the League "Alright, there's our exit. Those that can fly should carry those that can't!"

Superman flew out of the ship first carry Batman, the Manhunter followed suit, carrying Green Lantern. Wonder Woman grabbed Flash and flew out after them. She looked back as she continued to fly away from the prison ship. Sure enough the white-haired girl was flying right behind them. She saw Wonder Woman looking back and gave her a small smile and a thumbs-up. The Amazon returned the smile and nodded before turning her head back to the front.

Flash glance upwards at the woman holding him. "Y'know, whoever she is, I'm just glad she's on our side."

* * *

**The Streets of Metropolis**

The Justice League and their new ally have found refuge in a department store. As the Leaguers took a moment to catch their breath, the young girl phased through the ceiling to survey the surrounding area, leaving the League alone. Green Lantern took this chance and asked Superman.

"That x-ray vision working yet?"

Superman looked up at the ceiling. "There are Thanagarians everywhere within a two-block radius."

"Hey, maybe 'Invisi-girl' could go all ninja again and knock all of them out for us." Flash put his two cents in.

Ignoring the speedster's comments, Superman turned to Diana and J'onn. "Were either of you able to get a read on her? Was there anything that suggests she's really here to help us?"

The Martian shook his head. "Her mental barriers were too strong for me to break through." The rest of the League widened their eyes, apparently not only was their rescuer powerful physically, but mentally as well.

"I sensed…" Diana began, arms crossed deep in thought. The other heroes turned their heads to the Amazon, anxiously waiting for her next words, "… Pain, anger, sorrow, and loneliness. Something terrible must've happened to her, and by the looks of it, it happened only recently." The rest of the League fell silent as they each thought about what Diana had said. Then Flash looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Wait, this isn't one of those women understanding women things, is it?" The other heroes groaned loudly as they face-palmed themselves and shook their heads. Diana simply rolled her eyes.

"I was blessed by the Gods with many gifts before I left Themyscira," the Amazon answered, "and one of those gifts is the ability to read emotions." the Flash looked confusingly at Diana for a few seconds, thinking of a way to recover from his mistake.

"Uh, I knew that." Diana rolled her eyes again. Another silent moment passed, and then the white-haired girl returned, phasing through the ceiling and landing softly on the ground.

"There're patrols everywhere as far as I could see," said the girl coolly, "and even more beyond my line of sight." The Leaguers' expressions turned grim at the bad news. If they were going to get out of Metropolis without attracting the Thanagarians' attention, they needed to come up with a plan fast.

"Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and they'll all go home," Flash joked. Everyone looked at him questioningly, "C'mon you guys, a little optimism wouldn't hurt at a time like-"

Before the speedster could finish, a voice coming out of a loud speaker boomed overhead from outside.

"_THIS IS THE VOICE OF THE THANAGARIAN OCCUPATIONAL AUTHORITY. THE JUSTICE LEAGUE ARE ESCAPED PRISONERS AND VIOLATORS OF OUR MARTIAL LAW. THEY ARE TO BE CONSIDERED AN ENEMY, AND DEALT WITH ON SIGHT. ANY PERSON OR PERSONS FOUND AIDING OR HARBORING THEM… WILL BE SUMMARILY _**PUNISHED_._**_"_

_Thanagarian, so that's what they are _the girl thought as she turned to look at the Fastest Man Alive, "So much for optimism huh?"

The Flash hunched his shoulders in defeat. "Yeah, something like that."

"For the time being we're going to have to go underground." Batman spoke with absolute authority.

"How exactly do we hide when the entire planet is looking for us?" asked Wonder Woman. The League fell silent again, each member desperately thinking of an idea. The white-haired girl looked around the building, when a thought struck her.

"Well, we are in a store," the others looked at her, "maybe all we need to do is to hide in plain sight."

"She is right." J'onn agreed. The other Leaguers turned to their friend as he held the sleeve of a coat nearby. "They're looking for the Justice League. But without out costumes, we are merely ordinary citizens." J'onn shapeshifted as he spoke; turning into a human man wearing a brown trench coat.

"Whoa, hold on a second here!" The Flash blurted out. "What about the whole secret identity thing? I mean, I trust you guys and all, but what about her?"

Flash jerked a thumb towards the young girl. The latter narrowed her eyes and glared at the speedster.

"_Yes. _By all means _don't _trust the person that sprung you and your team out of prison, and saved your lives." said the girl with clear sarcasm. She was starting to grow impatient; she had questions that needed answering. Instead, she was running for her life with a group of people who look like they would fit in perfectly in a comic book convention.

"Whoa, hey, there's no need to get aggressive." replied the Flash as he backed away, holding his hands up in peace.

The white-haired girl took a deep breath. "Listen, I'll do my part to help you get rid of those… Thanagarians. But afterwards I-"

Her words were cut off as her eyes looked downwards; she was at a loss at what to say. The League continued to look at the girl as she took another breath. "I don't know, after everything I've been through. I-I don't even know what I'm supposed to do anymore." She straightened her posture as turned her eyes back towards the heroes. "But I do know how to improve this secret identity issue…"

As she finished, a bright blue horizontal ring appeared around her midsection, illuminating the department store in a low bluish hue. The ring then splited off into two and started to move in opposite directions, one traveling up her body while the other traveled down. As the rings moved along the girl's body, her form began to change. When the rings reached above her head and below her feet respectively, the bright rings disappeared, refilling the store in semi-darkness. The white-haired girl was replaced by a different girl who looked exactly like her, except she now had brown-almond hair, and emerald green eyes. However, the scar was still there over her eye. She now wore a faded purple T-shirt with a white long-sleeved undershirt underneath, blue jeans, and gray tennis shoes.

"My name's Rachel," the girl told the League emotionlessly, "Rachel Robertson."

* * *

Every Leaguer stared in complete shock.

Flash shook his head as if to clear it. "Um, Okay, what did you just do?"

Rachel put a hand on her chest. "This is my human form, what you've been seeing was my ghost form."

"Your _ghost _form?" repeated Wonder Woman.

"I know it's confusing, but I can explain everything later." Rachel assured the League.

"I don't believe it," Lantern clapped a hand to his forehead, "first Earth gets invaded by an army of bird-people, and then a _ghost kid_ shows up to bust us out of prison. Can this day get any weirder?"

Rachel crossed her arms as she glared at the man. "Wow, mister. You _really _know how to make a girl feel good about herself." Flash sniggered as he covered his mouth with his hand. Wonder Woman just smiled warmly at the girl.

"Uh, sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It doesn't matter," Rachel interrupted, uncrossing her arms, "We need to get moving before the Thanagarians find us."

"She's right", Batman said as he walked forward and removed his cowl. Rachel looked at Batman's black hair and then into his cold, penetrating eyes. What she saw made her blink; she instantly knew what lurked behind those eyes, ones that only the pain of suffering and loss can create.

"Bruce Wayne," said the man, and then he jerked a thumb at Flash, "Wally West." He point to Superman. "Clark Kent," at Green Lantern, "John Stewart, and that's Diana and J'onn." The Dark Knight finished as he raised his arm to point out the Amazon and Martian. Rachel looked at each Leaguer before nodding. With that, the League began to separate, each member looking for a set of clothes to change into.

Flash stayed put, expressing a smug face at the Dark Knight; "Show off," he exclaimed before removing his own mask. Reveal a man in about his mid-twenties with short red hair.

"Red hair, it suits you," Diana said as she ruffled his hair.

"You think so?" smiled Wally, but it quickly faded as a brown shirt hit him, covering half his face.

"Change _now,_" ordered Bruce as he stalked passed the speedster, eyeing him dangerously. Diana sniggered before walking away.

Rachel looked at speedster with a small smirk. "Wally huh?"

"Yeah, yeah," Wally pouted as he too went to change.

* * *

Rachel leaned against a pillar, crossed her arms and stared at her feet. She was waiting patiently for the Justice Leaguers to change into civilian attire, when she felt someone watching her. She moved her eyes up and saw Wally hastily turn his head away from her. Suspicious, but not wanting to press the issue, Rachel looked down at her feet again. Sure enough, she felt Wally staring at her again, she looked up a second time and again he hurriedly looked away.

Rachel sighed. "If you curious about my scar, you could just ask." The speedster paused for a moment, and then continued to change.

When the League finished changing, they regrouped at the center of the store. Each Leaguer could now easily be regarded as a normal civilian; Superman wore a blue business suit and his trademarked pair of glasses. Wonder Woman had tied her hair up in a ponytail, and wore a plain long sleeve blue shirt with regular denim jeans. Green Lantern was in a pair of brown pants, a hoodie, and a skull cap. Batman now wore a turtleneck sweater under a dark leather jacket, with slightly lighter pants. Flash picked out a pair of dark colored jeans and a tan colored jacket.

Wally looked at Rachel. "How did you know what I was thinking?" He leaned closer to her as his expression became accusatory, "can you read minds or something?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I don't need telepathy when it comes to my scar; it's kind of the first thing people see when they look at me." When Diana heard Rachel's words, she inwardly smiled a little. Here was someone who wasn't afraid of her imperfections, even though it was very noticeable.

"Oh, okay, so how'd you get the scar?" asked Flash bluntly. The men just shook their heads, while Diana pinched the bridge of her nose.

Rachel's expression remained unchanged. "Long story short; I got it in a fight," she glanced at Bruce, "now are we just going to stand here playing '20 questions' or are we going to leave?"

The billionaire nodded, and led the way out to the alley at the back of the store. The heroes looked to up and saw Thanagarians flying in every direction. Further down the alley, Bruce peeked up and down the street to check if the coast was clear. He turned back and gave the others the thumbs-up.

"They'll be expecting seven of us; we'll stand a better chance if we split up," suggested John.

"We need to get to Gotham City. We can regroup at my house there. Try not to draw attention to yourselves." Bruce strategized. After that the League broke into pairs, Clark walked down the street with J'onn, Wally followed Lantern across the street opposite, leaving Rachel, Bruce, and Diana in the alley.

"So I guess I'm with you two," the ghost-girl stated.

Bruce nodded. "We can pose as a family out on a nightly stroll."

Rachel's expression became grim as the billionaire finished talking "Fine, but just so you know, _Bruce_, I am _not _addressing you two as my 'parents'." Bruce raised an eyebrow and looked over at Diana. The Amazon simply shook her head, warning the man to not press the issue. As the trio starting to walk away, Rachel simply fixed her gaze forward. The Detective, however, felt slightly uneasy as the teen walked next to him. The temperature in the air seems to have dropped several degrees. Diana could still feel the wave of emotions pouring out of the young girl. What had caused her so much pain? The Amazon shuddered as her imagination started to wander.

* * *

**Thanagarian Mothership: above the Gobi Desert**

Shayera Hol, formerly known as Hawkgirl, and traitor to the Justice League, stood on the bridge of Thanagarian Mothership with Hro Talak, the Commander of Thanagarian forces and her fiancé. Thinking of what had just happened several hours earlier.

When word about the Justice League's escape from the prison shuttle reached him, Talak was furious. He instantly ordered his forces to go to find the heroes. He then proceeded to have a team investigate the security footage to determine how they escaped. After several hours of fuming, Talak cooled off enough to think about the situation. There is no doubt that the heroes of the Justice League are formidable opponents, but the entire Thanagarian invasion force has them outnumbered and outgunned. With all that coupled with Shayera's information on all their weaknesses, Talak was confident that the League wouldn't win, no matter what their next move is.

However, his confidence was before he knew who had freed them from the ship. The footage caught him by surprise. Apparently this human-looking, white-haired adolescent had been able to get past the security formation surrounding the ship, navigate inside the ship completely undetected, find where the League was being held. She was then able to single-handedly fend off a platoon of Thanagarian soldiers, survive a heavy weapon blast, and finally blow a massive hole in the hull of the ship with an energy blast of her own. Talak couldn't even comprehend how someone, adolescent or not, process that much power.

Shayera was having trouble believing it herself, even though she and Talak had reviewed the footage several times. She didn't know anything about the teenage girl; she too had never seen anything like it. However, what Shayera did know was that the girl will soon become a huge problem to their cause. The teen was a complete unknown, and in times of war, unknowns can be deadly.

Currently, Talak was having a conversation with Paran Dul, a Thanagarian woman, via video-screen. Dul was tasked with overseeing the construction of the shield generator, the one that the Thanagarians claimed was necessary to protect Earth from a supposed Gordanian invasion.

"Be aware that the Justice League has escaped, apparently with the help of a white-hair teenage girl," Talak advised, "Be prepared in case they were to attack."

"Any attack on this base would be suicide," Dul bragged, seemingly no share the Thanagarian commander's concern.

"Keep me informed of your progress. Let nothing delay you," Talak said.

"By your command." Dul replied as she bowed her head. The screen went blank. Shayera took this opportunity to mention a topic she overheard Paran and her future husband discuss earlier.

"Humans as slave labor?" she asked accusingly with concern in her voice. She overheard Paran mention humans are able to 'lift and carry as _well_ as any animal.'

Talak didn't even glance at her as he answered. "Unfortunate, but necessary." Shayera was slightly taken aback at the remorselessness in his voice, before she could respond; Talak moved to a console nearby over and checked up on some details. "We are on a most unforgiving schedule. We must move as quickly as possible if we want to finish the hyperspace bypass in time."

Shayera dropped her jaw in shock, eyes threatening to burst from their sockets. Did he say hyperspace bypass? But that would…

"W-waited, bypass?" she yelled, looking the Commander in the eye. "I thought you said we were creating a force field for Earth!"

"That was simply our cover story." Talak simply replied.

Shayera couldn't believe her ears; she shook her head as she came up with another question.

"When were you going to tell me this?" she questioned. "Did you not think you could trust me?"

The room was silent for what seem like an eternity. In all those years of being together, Shayera never once had been this frustrated with the Commander. She just couldn't understand how the man she once loved would resort to this. How could he?

Talak broke the silence. "Follow me." This brought Shayera back to reality. The two Thanagarians began to walk out of the bridge and into an elevator.

A few minutes later, the pair entered the ship's war room. They stopped in front of a large video-screen that was used for devising battle plans.

"As you are well aware, the Gordanian homeworld has been protected for decades by an impenetrable defensive line," Talak began, as he spoke, an image of the Gordanian home planet appeared, orbited by fleets of starships and several space stations. Clearly, any head-on attack would be suicide.

The image shifted into a row of planets, each encircled and connected as if they were a part of a connect-the-dots image. "But this chain of hyperspace bypasses will allow the full force of our armada to go around their defenses by jumping behind them, which will let us wage a direct assault on the heart of their empire."

Shayera saw the brilliance in the plan. However, she knew there was more to this, and sure enough the screen shifted once more to reveal an image of Earth, considerably larger than all the previous planets.

"Earth is the last link in the chain. Once we finish it, we can finally attack and annihilate the threat of the Gordanians forever."

The Ex-Leaguer could hear a hint of pride in his voice. However, there was something much bigger that was worrying her.

"But ripping a hole in hyperspace would destroy this entire planet, and everyone on it!" she pointed out loudly.

"Unfortunately, yes," replied Talak, his voice became dark and quiet, as if that moment showed how much the war had affected him, how much it cost him, how much it is _still _costing him. The touchy subject of the soul was usually disregarded by the Thanagarians, but Commander firmly believed that he will eventually face the consequences of his actions.

"For Thanagar to live, Earth must die." Those words left Shayera absolutely aghast. She had no idea everything would come to this.

"No."

* * *

**Metropolis: Outer limits**

Rachel, Diana, and Bruce were able to make their way out of Metropolis without encountering any Thanagarians. Both the Amazon and Detective thought about the ghost-girl. Bruce was concerned about the how Rachel's powers could affect the world; he was still having a hard time adjusting to the fact that the young girl was a total powerhouse, despite looking nothing like one. Diana, however, was thinking Rachel's mental health. Even though she hid it very well with her neutral expression, the princess could still feel the girl's agony. Diana hoped talking to her would get Rachel to ease up a little, and maybe learn more about her in the process.

"Rachel?"

The girl turned her head to the Amazon, but her expression didn't change. "Yes, Diana?"

"I was wondering about your powers," Diana started, "may you give us more details about them?"

Bruce glanced at the princess. "It could help us a lot actually," he added.

Rachel looked both Diana and Bruce, and then realized what the Amazon's intentions were, and complied. "Sure, at the moment I've got flight, super strength, super speed, intangibility, invisibility, energy manipulation, sensory, and oh you haven't seen it yet, but I can also duplicate myself."

The billionaire and princess once again stared shocked at the girl. She seemed very keen on constantly surprising them.

"At the moment?" questioned Bruce.

Rachel looked at the Detective, slightly impressed that he caught on. "Yeah, those are just the powers I currently have. I don't know if that's all I'll get though."

Bruce and Diana exchanged looks, both thinking the same thing. If what Rachel said was true, she could virtually become unstoppable.

"I know," continued Rachel, the two Leaguers looked back at her, "having all these powers could drive you insane, but that's why I have my human side," she pointed her thumb to her chest, "it keeps me honest."

Bruce nodded in understanding, glad to hear that even though Rachel had all these incredible abilities, she valued her humanity just as equally if not more.

Diana wanted to know something else. "If you have all these powers and are as powerful as we witnessed. How it is that we've never noticed you, even in the slightest?"

Rachel halted as she thought briefly about the Amazon's words. Her neutral expression changed into a brooding one. Bruce and Diana stopped as well. "I think it's because I'm in a different dimension." Upon hearing this, Bruce and Diana stared at the girl, waiting for her to finish her hypothesis, "yeah, it makes sense, back where I'm from, there's no such thing as a _Justice League_, or Thanagarians, and there any cities named Metropolis or Gotham. And… And." Rachel tilted her head up to the sky as if hoping to find something amongst the stars. The Dark Knight and Amazon copied her, but saw nothing but plain sky.

"And what?" asked Bruce, looking back at Rachel.

Rachel lowered her gaze. "It doesn't matter right now, we should keep moving."

Bruce nodded and the trio started to walk again. Even though their minds were teeming with questions, now it is not the time to ask. There was still an invasion force that needed to be stopped.

* * *

**Wayne Manor**

The pretend family was the first to arrive at the billionaire's mansion. The double doors opened as the trio approached it, revealing an old, balding man wear a black suit and bow tie. Bruce quickly introduced the man as his butler, Alfred. Rachel took a moment to survey the inside of the mansion; the place seemed very spacious, very comfortable, and very nicely kept. She gazed forward again as Alfred stood in front of her, holding a tray full of snacks.

"Refreshments?" he asked calmly. Rachel smiled as she gratefully accepted his offer. She couldn't even remember the last time she ate.

A few moments later, Bruce led both ladies to a grandfather clock. He opened the cover and moved the hour hand to the 12 o'clock position. A light gong that sounded, and the billionaire pulled the clock aside like a door. Behind it was a tunnel, stairs leading into a gigantic cave. Rachel looked in awe as she saw the enormous computer console standing against one wall, the unusually designed black car parked on a platform a few yards over. In another area, she noticed the various objects stood on their respective podiums and were in glass cases. Behind the displays was a penny that looked to be twenty feet in diameter, next to that was a giant mechanical T-Rex.

Bruce smirked a little at seeing the ghost-girl's reaction to his headquarters. "Welcome to the Batcave."

Rachel looked him questioningly. "You really live up to the whole bat-persona, don't you?"

"I do my best to." Bruce shrugged.

* * *

**A Few Hours Later**

The Flash and Green Lantern were the last Leaguers to arrive at the manor. They were escorted into the Batcave by Alfred.

"You're late." Bruce remarked.

"Good to see you too." John answered with sarcasm. "We had a slight mishap."

Wally said nothing as he noticed the T-Rex, grinning like a child. "Hey, that's a giant dinosaur."

Alfred was behind him, his expression calm. "And I thought Batman was the Detective." Rachel smirked, she knew there was a reason she liked the butler.

Flash rejoined the others as J'onn continued to speak. "We were just speculating why the Thanagarians are really here."

"We know it's obviously not to protect us." Clark said certainly.

"But if the Gordanians aren't anywhere near Earth," said Diana, "why do they need to build the force field?"

"If it is a force field." Questioned Bruce.

As the League talk amongst themselves, Rachel turned her head to a part of the cave that was covered in darkness. "Guys, we have company." The other heroes glanced over at Rachel's words, their eyes widened as they saw someone emerge from the shadows.

"You're _good_," said Shayera, then she looked to her former teammates "I can tell you what it is."

Clark glared at her as he pulled off his glasses. "You've got a lot of nerve showing up here."

"We should thank you," the Amazon said coldly, "it saves us the trouble of hunting you down."

Before the situation could escalate any further, the ghost-girl stepped between the League and the Thanagarian traitor.

"Wait," she said, "she's obviously not here to pick a fight. We should hear her out." Everyone looked at Rachel, eyebrows raised.

"She's right, I came to help." The Former Hawkgirl told them.

"Hawk-people all over the planet?" Flash sarcastically pointed-out, "Martial law? I don't think we need any more of your help."

Superman and Wonder Woman nodded in agreement. Shayera paused for a moment, and then continued. "They're building a hyperspace bypass. When it's active, it'll destroy the planet and everyone on it." She walked up to Bruce and took out a small purple rectangular device. "Here; this has all the information on the project." Bruce said nothing as he kept glaring at her. "Believe me; I didn't know the magnitude of Talak's plan."

The Detective kept his glare on her as he took the device. "We'll check it out," when he starting to walk away, he told her, "there's the door." The rest of the League except Green Lantern walked past Shayera without giving her so much as a passing glance. Rachel exchanged looks with the Thanagarian before she too walked away. Just before Shayera turned to leave, she gave John his ring back. He stared at it as he rejoined the group.

Rachel eyed the ring curiously. "What's with the jewelry?"

John slightly smirked at her, and then placed the ring onto his right middle finger. A second later, his eyes glowed green as his civilian clothes disappeared, changing him into his Green Lantern suit.

"Ah, I see." Rachel understood.

They turned to look at the computer, where it was showing a simulation of the effects the hyperspace bypass would have on Earth. They continued watching until the simulation ended, confirming what Shayera has told them.

"Ingenious." The Bat whispered.

"Yeah, impressive," Superman added, taking off his glasses again, "Let's go wreck it."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Lantern asked, "The whole thing's behind a force field."

Rachel stepped forward and stopped next to where Bruce sat. "Let me take a look." She said as she narrowed her eyes, as she did so, a light blue visor-like, see-through strip appeared in front of her eyes. As the girl stared at the screen, lines of code and numbers appeared on the visor's screen, scrolling up at speeds barely detectable by the average human.

"It looks like the bypass is too dangerous for a crew to maintain the force field on-site. They're probably transmitting a remote signal that's keeping it active." Rachel extended her hand to the keyboard and typed a few keys. An image of the bypass appeared, followed by a line of arrows, the screen moved with the arrows as they landed on the Thanagarian Mothership. "There, if we disable it, the force field's history."

The visor disappeared into thin air as Rachel finished talking, Flash leapt at the opportunity. "Okay, again, how'd you do that?"

Rachel looked at the speedster, and then tucked her hair behind one ear, revealing a small, black, flat-studded earring on the lobe. "See this? It's a holographic interface that I use whenever I need to analyze something more thoroughly."

The Fastest Man Alive whistled. "Fashion and function. Nice!"

Rachel smiled warmly as she brought her hair back. "Thanks, they were… a gift." Her smile faltered slightly as she turned her face away from Wally. Diana looked sadly at the girl; realizing the meaning in her words. Suddenly Rachel's eyes widened as she turned her head to look at the entrance of the cave.

"They're coming!"

Bruce looked at Rachel, and then at the computer screen, sure enough the proximity sensors surrounding the manor have been triggered.

"Suit up!" the Detective ordered as he sprung from his chair and ran to his spare Bat-suit. The other heroes, with their costumes being underneath, simply shed their outer clothing. J'onn merely shapeshifted back to his Martian form, and finally Rachel transformed as the blue rings returned, turning her back into her ghost form.

When everyone finished, Flash grinned at the girl. "Wow, it'd been awesome if I could _that_." Rachel just smirked and shrugged her shoulders.

"Get ready to ambush them." Batman said as he regrouped with the rest. As the League ran to find a hiding spot, Rachel just vanished into thin air.

"Show off," Flash muttered smugly, and then he felt something smack him in the back of the head, "Ow." He turned but wasn't able to see what hit him, only hearing a slight chuckle. "Ha ha, very funny." He pouted before running off.

* * *

A few seconds later, the entrance exploded, two squads of Thanagarian soldiers landed in the center of the cave. All but two carried axes, maces, spears and swords; the last two carried heavy cannons.

"Spread out," the squad leader barked, "they're hiding here somewhere."

The Thanagarian trespassers didn't get far however as a pair of blue energy blasts hit the two heavy weapon carriers squarely in the chest, knocking them out cold.

"You just made a _big_ mistake," Rachel said as she reappeared, and then the League charged from the shadows.

"Come get some," roared Green Lantern as he blasted one of the Thanagarians attempting to shoot him with his ring.

Wonder Woman caught another soldier by the ankles with her lasso and swung the alien towards Manhunter, who stuck his arm to the side, clotheslining the Thanagarian's head. Flash was running in a weaving pattern through the soldiers, hitting them with incredible speed, not stopping for anything.

As one Thanagarian soldier was drawing a bead on the Fastest Man Alive with his weapon. Superman blurred in front of him, crushing both the soldier's pistol and hand. Making the Thanagarian scream in pain, Superman simply told him, "Let's use our indoor voice." Then he punched the soldier, sending him flying into the stone wall.

Flash was able to avoid the shots from his new Thanagarian pursuers. He ran passed them and spun his arms rapidly, two small tornadoes blew the two Thanagarians into the giant penny's stand, causing it to collapse on them, tails facing up.

Flash expressed a wide smirk. "Tails, I win."

As Batman landed on the ground, he threw three batarangs into the three Thanagarians' chest harnesses. However, when they didn't penetrate, the soldiers stopped in their tracks, hovering in the air, looking at the Dark Knight with disdain. What they didn't notice, was the red light blinking on each batarang.

"Your weapons are pitiful." A soldier snarled

"Wait for it." As Batman finish, hundreds of eyes appeared into focus in the darkness behind him. Then an enormous swarm of bats flew towards the three Thanagarians, seemingly attracted to the batarangs. The soldiers screamed, and tried to wave the bats off, but to no avail. When the bats finally flew away, the Thanagarian soldiers lay unconscious, with scratches covering their bodies.

Rachel was having no trouble dodging the Thanagarians' shots. She flew towards the group at speeds faster than the blink of an eye. She swung her leg and kicked one Thanagarian soldier squarely in the temple, causing him to slam into the opposite wall ten yards away. Before other two soldiers could react, Rachel hit one of them with an uppercut, sending him flying to the ceiling, before following through with a back fist to the last Thanagarian's cheek, sending the unconscious soldier crashing to the ground.

* * *

With that, the fight had been won. The heroes tied up the Thanagarian intruders, and then walked out of the Batcave. The heroes reentered the Detective's mansion, where Alfred was sweeping up the glass that used to be the front windows.

"Mind the glass, sir." Informed the butler as the League walked past him.

Once outside, Batman turned to Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Rachel. "Go and disable the command ship." He then looked at Flash and Manhunter. "We'll take care of the bypass."

Flash widened his eyes skeptically. "Whoa-whoa, wait! That thing's the size of a city. What are you going to do, throw a batarang at it?"

The Detective looked at the Thanagarian aircraft parked a few yards over. "Something like that." He answered as he narrowed his eyes.

"What do you plan to do?" The Martian asked.

"First, you two are going to help me retake the Watchtower." Rachel looked up at the sky, picturing the League's advanced space station orbiting the planet.

"B-But it's crawling with Thanagarian soldiers," Flash protested, "How are we going to get inside?"

Batman pointed to the Thanagarian aircraft. "With that, " was his simple reply.

Superman nodded. "We all've got our assignments, let's go." The Man of Steel soared upwards, with Wonder Woman and Green Lantern flying right behind him. Rachel floated in the air a few feet before turning back to face the trio.

"Good luck." Three men nodded as she turned again and flew off after the others.

* * *

Batman, Flash and Manhunter stood inside Thanagarian aircraft, with J'onn in the pilot's chair staring at the controls.

"Well?" asked the Dark Knight.

"I have no idea how to fly this vessel."

"Aw man, if we only had Rachel's holographic thingy," Flash quipped as he looked at a button on the control panel. "What's this do?" he pressed the button. The ship shot a blast of energy at Wayne Manor, creating a big hole right next to the already glassless window. Alfred lifted his head as he had ducked from the explosion.

"My Word!"

Batman got right up in Flash's face, gritting his teeth. "That's. _Not_. Helping."

J'onn turned to the two. "I'll need one of the hawk-men."

Several minutes later, Batman grabbed Kregor, the one who led the attack, as well as one of Talak's chief advisors, and threw him against the side of the aircraft.

"You think I'll tell you anything?" Kregor taunted, "I'd sooner choke on your bones."

"Fine by me," Flash retorted, his fist ready to strike. "Can I start with these?" The Manhunter grabbed his arm before the speedster could punch the Thanagarian.

"We're short on time," said J'onn said, "I'll take the information from him."

"Wait, I thought you couldn't read their minds?" Flash looked curiously at his friend.

"I'll just have to try _harder_." J'onn answered as he gripped Kregor's head, eyes glowing.

As the Manhunter attempted to break into Kregor's mind, slashes and claw-marks appeared throughout J'onn's body. Apparently the Thanagarian's mental defenses stronger than the Martian had anticipated. A few seconds later, J'onn pulled himself away from Kregor, swaying as he stood. Flash grabbed the Martian's arm to steady him as his injuries slowly began to fade.

"I… I have what we need." J'onn said grimly. He did not seem proud of what he had done.

Shortly after, the aircraft took off towards the Watchtower. Alfred walked into the yard, spotting Kregor lying sideways on the ground. The butler noticed the Thanagarian was softly moaning. His eyes were wide, but unseeing, and drool was falling from his open mouth.

It seems Manhunter's attack on his mind did some serious damage.

Alfred wrinkled his nose slightly at the sight of the crippled Thanagarian. "I'll have to ask Master Bruce to not leave trash in the yard."

* * *

**Outer Space: approaching Watchtower**

J'onn shapeshifted into a doppelgänger of Kregor as the stolen ship approached the Watchtower. Pressing a button on the control panel, he spoke with Kregor's voice.

"Shuttle Elipson-sixteen, requesting entry." He pressed another button on the panel. "Confirm docking code."

"Docking code confirmed." The ship's on-board speakers responded as the doors to the Watchtower's docking bay opened. "You are clear to come aboard."

After the ship landed, the disguised Martian walked down the ramp where two Thanagarian soldiers stood waiting.

"We weren't expecting you, sir." One of them said, surprise in his voice.

"There's been a change of plans." 'Kregor' said, and then his form changed into large blue Cyclops like creature. The two soldiers gasped in fear.

J'onn hastily incapacitated the two Thanagarians, but realized more had ran into the docking bay. As one attempted to take a shot, a batarang flew in and disarmed him. The soldier was just able to see Batman run at him until the Detective knocked him unconscious with a pair of electrically-charged brass knuckles. The remaining Thanagarians in the space station were no match for the three heroes.

* * *

**Thanagarian Invasion Fleet**

Rachel, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern were fast approaching the Thanagarian Fleet. However, it became clear that they were discovered, as every fighter aircraft was converging on their position.

"Pretty bad odds." The Amazon stated.

"It's absolutely terrible." Rachel added.

"Yeah, they don't stand a chance." Superman responded in a serious tone.

To call the following event a battle is completely incorrect. A battle would imply that both opposing sides were receiving damage. The Thanagarian fighters were being blasted out of the sky in a matter of seconds. Leaving the heroes completely unharmed.

Green Lantern constructed an electric drill with his ring, and then proceeded to bore a hole at the bottom of the Mothership. Afterwards he made his way inside, zooming down the halls of the ship.

* * *

**Watchtower**

Batman, Flash, and Martian Manhunter have successfully taken out all the Thanagarian soldiers that previously occupied the Watchtower.

"Okay," Flash boast, fists on his hips, "the Watchtower's ours again." He then rushed over to the Detective, who made his way over to one of the computer consoles during the fight.

"So where's this secret weapon of yours?" asked the speedster.

"You're standing in it."

Flash looked at him, completely shocked. "Wait… you mean you're gonna…"

"Take the Watchtower out of orbit and drop it right on top of their little science project." Batman finished for him. He then pointed at the unconscious Thanagarians. "Get them to the escape pods."

The Watchtower's engines turned and the giant space station started speed towards the hyperspace bypass. The heroes hurriedly brought all the soldiers to the escape pods. With the Flash's speed, they were done in no time.

"Are these the last of them?" J'onn wanted to make sure.

"Yep," replied Flash confidently, clapping his hands clean. However, neither of them noticed Batman slowly backing away from the escape pod. "The tower is completely pest-free."

"Good." The Detective said as he pressed a button, launching the escape pod away from the Watchtower, with him still on board the station.

The two Leaguers inside the pod bolted to the window. "Bats! What are you doing?" yelled the Flash.

"I can't risk having the Watchtower burn up on reentry. I'll have to guide it in manually." Batman stopped for a few seconds, selecting his next words carefully. "Gentlemen… It's been an honor."

J'onn hung his head as Flash slowly sat on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest. Both heroes knew that the chances of Batman surviving are slim to none.

* * *

**Thanagarian Mothership**

Standing on the Mothership's bridge, Commander Hro Talak was watching live security footage of John Stewart flying through the ship's halls, blasting anyone and everyone out of the way without any hesitation. Upon seeing the human, Talak became hoarse with rage. He despised the Lantern with the deepest passion. The Justice Leaguer had stolen Shayera Hol's love away from him. Shayera was currently being held in the brig for warning the League about their plans, giving Lantern back his ring, and ultimately betraying her entire race. Talak had tried his best to reason with her. Trying to make her see that in order for the Thanagarians to prevail, Earth must be sacrificed, but instead of listening to him. Shayera had betrayed her people, had betrayed _him_, because she grew to love the Earth, to love _John Stewart_.

"Intruder alert!" a soldier on the bridge made a ship-wide announcement. "All security teams to engineering!"

"Belay that!" shouted the Commander, as he walked out of the bridge, tightening the hold on his battle-axe. "Green Lantern is _mine_."

If Talak had remained in his spot for just a tiny bit longer, he would have noticed Wonder Woman slamming a fighter into the bridge. She immediately flew into the room, with Rachel hot on her tail. While the Amazon took out the remaining soldiers in the bridge, the ghost-girl blasted every control panel she could see. Soon enough, the room was filled with smoke and unconscious Thanagarians. Diana picked up a sword and rushed out of the room, followed by Rachel. They ran alongside each other until they reached two separate hallways leading to engineering.

The Amazon looked at her young friend. "Are you ready?"

Rachel floated a few feet off the ground. "You bet'cha, you go that way," She pointed to the left hallway, and then to the right, "and I'll go this way?" Diana nodded. "Awesome. A little race to see who gets there first?" she finished with a grin.

"You're on." Wonder Woman smirked, and then charged down her hallway, war-crying as she went. Rachel soared down her own hallway, shoving Thanagarians out of her way.

The Amazon princess had to admit, the Thanagarians were worthy opponents, but she was able to get past them with hardly any trouble. After she defeated the squad, she was fighting, she approached an unusual door that had bars in various angles. The door was an entrance to a room, in the center of the room, and stood inside of a force field was the traitor, Shayera Hol. Anger boiled inside Diana as she glared at her former friend.

"I should leave you to burn." Wonder Woman growled. Then she slashed the control panel to Shayera's cell with her sword. Instantly the door opened as the force field vanished. Diana glared at Shayera for a few more seconds, and then she walked away. Shayera walked out of the room, picked up a mace from an unconscious soldier, and flew towards engineering.

Green Lantern pried open the door to the force field control room with his ring. At the center of the room was a large room with a pillar shaped force field; inside of it was what looked like a small plunger-like device.

"The force field controls." Lantern glanced upwards and saw Hro Talak, landing in between him and the force field. "That is what you came for, yes? You want it?" he held his ax at the ready. "All you have to do is get by me."

"It'll be a pleasure." Lantern replied as he raised his ring, firing a beam of energy at the Thanagarian commander, who just simply deflected it by swinging his ax.

"No." Talak objected. "This won't be like the last time that you took something that belonged to me."

John realized he meant Shayera. "Anything I took was freely offered. Maybe you should take better care of your stuff."

Lantern shot more beams of energy at Talak, who deflected them all. As both flew into the air, Lantern formed a shield in an attempt to block Talak's attack. The strategy didn't seem very effective as eventually his shield was broken. He then resorted to dodge the Commander's attacks; this didn't work either as Lantern was hit by the hilt of Talak ax and fist, sending him flying into some machinery, causing several cuts to his face.

Talak landed in front of John as he slowly regained his feet. "I've beaten you, little man." He said with no pity in his voice, "any last words?"

Green Lantern finally got back on his feet, glaring at the Thanagarian. "Yeah, you can kiss my ax!" He snarled as he created a green battleaxe with his ring. Then the two swung their weapons at each other, both refusing to back down.

* * *

Rachel plowed through another group of Thanagarians, she realized she could simply fly past them using her intangibility, but she didn't want them following her. She was doing extremely well aside from a few nicks. She was more concerned about the others; in a short time they've been together, the girl had grown to care for the Leaguers, even the Detective. She realized that the bonds forged by battle can become very powerful. _But was it real, or was it just my grief making me attached?_

As the ghost-girl noticed another squad of soldiers up ahead, she decided to use a different tactic. Leading with energy blasts, she took out half the soldiers before they got too close. Then she punched and kicked the rest, even throwing several to the walls or into other soldiers. She hovered for a bit when she felt someone approaching from behind her. Instinctively, she spun around rapidly, a punch ready to strike her pursuer.

"Wait!"

Rachel stopped inches from her face. "Shayera?" the ghost-girl exclaimed.

"Yeah, i-it's me" she answered, "You're Rachel, right?"

Rachel nodded as she lowered her fist, glaring at the former Leaguer. "What are you up to?"

Shayera looked away in shame. "I want to try and fix what I've done, and maybe I can never repair the damage I've done completely. But I want to start now before it's too late."

Rachel took a good look at the woman in front of her. She understood how Shayera felt about the situation; all she wanted to do was fix her mistakes, to seek redemption.

"Okay then," the girl said calmly before turning around to fly down the hallway.

Shayera followed Rachel, but something confused the Thanagarian. "Wait, so you're going to trust me, just like that?"

"I know you won't try anything," the ghost-girl answered, and she looked over her shoulder at Shayera, "because we both know what would happen if you _did_." Shayera nodded as Rachel looked forward again. Rachel's statement wasn't her being cocky; it was just a simple fact. Both knew the ghost-girl would _destroy _the Thanagarian in a fight.

The coast remained clear as the two reached the door to the shield controls. Their eyes widened as they saw Talak bring the blunt side of his ax down onto Lantern's forearm. John fell to his knees, screaming in pain as the bone shattered. However the Thanagarian commander didn't stop there, he hit Lantern with a sickening uppercut, causing him to fly across the room until he landed motionless on the floor.

Talak lifted his ax above his head, ready to end it, when Shayera shouted. "Hro! Enough!" The Commander turned his head to see the former Leaguer walking towards him. Stopping until they were only inches apart.

There was a moment of silence, and then Talak backhanded Shayera viciously, sending her crashing to the floor.

"I am a fool!" Anger was in every letter as he shrieked, "For _ever_ loving you!"

Before Talak got another chance to attack his former lover, the Commander was sent flying across the room and slamming into the wall. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it, and when he did, he saw Rachel hovering above him, holding his ax. Talak looked at the weapon in shock before looking at his empty hands.

Rachel looked down at the Commander; her face was contorted with anger and disgust. "_That _is enough!" she barked, and then with seemingly no effort, she snapped the ax perfectly in half. Dropping the pieces at Talak's feet.

"Shayera!" Rachel called out to the former Leaguer as she helped Lantern back to his feet. "I'll handle this, shut down the shield!"

After both Shayera and John nodded in understanding, they walked up the control panel, the latter leaner on Shayera for support. Talak looked at Rachel furiously, he was not about to be defeated by a child. He wouldn't allow it. With a shout, he flew at the girl, aiming a fist straight at her face. However, in one swift motion, Rachel both deflected his attack and punched him in the jaw, causing Talak's head to whip back violently. Then she grabbed his arms, and kneed him in the gut as she pulled him in, Talak made a wretched sound as he felt the pain. Finally, Rachel shot an energy blast straight into the commander's chest, sending him flying into a wall.

* * *

**Watchtower**

Batman struggled to keep the Watchtower on course as it descended through Earth's atmosphere. The station began to grow red hot as it continued to fall. He contacted Superman via his comlink.

"We're cutting it a little close." He pointed out. The Watchtower shook violently; electrical systems were sparking under stress, and debris was falling from the ceiling. "Have you shut off the force field?"

Superman shot a fighter out of the sky with his heat vision before pressing the comlink in his ear.

"Not yet. Where are you?"

"Aboard the Watchtower," the Detective replied, "guiding it to target."

"That' insane!" the Man of Steel exclaimed with shock. "Get out of there!"

"Negative. I'm staying." Grunted Batman as the communication was cut, replacing it was static.

"Batman!" Superman wasted no time and sped up towards the falling space station. Thanks to his enhanced senses, he was able to easily find it. Superman just hoped he could save his friend in time.

* * *

**Inside the Thanagarian Mothership**

Talak's entire body ached with pain. He now realized that the odds are against him. The Commander had undoubtedly underestimated the young girl; she was stronger than anyone he had ever faced. However, he couldn't escape the feeling that the girl was pulling her attacks.

"What's the matter?" Talak jabbed as he got back to his feet. "Afraid to kill me? Too scared to get blood on your hands?"

Rachel landed a few feet in front of him, eyes narrowed as she glared at him. _What's his problem? Why does he have to make it so hard for himself? _A split second later, the ghost-girl drove her fist into Talak's midsection, causing him to double over. As he did so, Rachel grabbed his chest harness and brought him inches from her face.

"Shut up!" She barked as she punched directly between his eyes. With a final grunt, the Thanagarian commander slid across the floor.

After glaring at the unconscious Talak for a few more moments, Rachel turned around to see the Lantern had just broken the force field with his ring. Stumbling forward, he reached the device and tried his hardest to push it down, but he couldn't because of the amount of pain he was in. He continued to struggle until Shayera walked next to him and placed her hand on top of his, and together they deactivated the shields.

**Watchtower**

The Watchtower continued its descent. The former engineering marvel was now a twisted, red hot, metal wreck hurtling towards the now unprotected bypass. It took Batman every ounce of will he had to stay conscious. Sweat was pouring out of every pore in the Detective's body as he struggled to keep the Watchtower on the correct trajectory.

Batman finally lost consciousness when he knew the Watchtower was guaranteed to crash into the bypass. Seconds after he passed out, Superman crashed into the station, he hurriedly ripped the seat that Batman was strapped to, and then flew both the seat and the Dark Knight to safety. After landing far away, Clark watched as the space station, the headquarters of the Justice League for the last few years, crashed into the Thanagarians' hyperspace bypass. The massive structure exploded with the force of a nuclear weapon. Leaving a crater that was several miles deep, and so wide it could be seen from space.

Batman, having regained his consciousness, looked at the devastation with Superman. Both men knew their mission was a success. A moment of silence later, Superman turned to his friend, a light smirk on his face.

"You always have to be the hero, don'tcha?"

The Dark Knight glanced at the Man of Steel, giving him a tired smirk of his own. "Right back at you."

* * *

**Thanagarian Mothership**

Rachel, Green Lantern and Shayera looked at the viewscreen in the room; it was showing the giant crater where the hyperspace bypass used to be. After smiling at them both, Shayera stared at the floor, looking sad and guilty.

Rachel sensed people approaching and quickly spun around to face the entrance. John and Shayera noticed the girl turning around, and hurriedly followed suit. A platoon of Thanagarian soldiers burst into the room, completely surrounding the trio. The three were prepared to fight, when cries of pain from the back of the room made everyone turn. Standing over several unconscious Thanagarians, covered with bruises and scratches on her body, panting, but still ready to fight, was Wonder Woman.

"Who's next?" asked Diana as she raised her sword. Before any more Thanagarians could charge at her, a voice could be heard from the opposite side of the room

"Stand down!" Commander Hro Talak barked as he stood up, bruises both light and dark covered the majority of his body. "Lower your weapons." every Thanagarian soldier obeyed without hesitation.

"Commander?" one soldier questioned.

"Our mission is a failure." The Commander elaborated. "There's no more reason to fight. Let them go." Talak paid no attention to the disbelieving looks from the soldiers and the heroes as Talak limped over to Shayera. "I hope you're proud of yourself. It'll take years for us to rebuild elsewhere."

Shayera simply glared at the Commander, her expression stoic. "Then you'd better get started." was all she said as she, Lantern, Diana, and Rachel walked out of the room. No Thanagarian made a move to stop them.

* * *

**Wayne Manor, 24 hours later**

Rachel and Shayera sat next to each other on the couch, watching the news. Rachel was back into her human form, and Shayera was dressed in a plain pair of jeans, shoes, and a white shirt with the back cut away that made room for her wings. They watched the television as it showed the Thanagarian fleet leaving Earth, the reporter narrated off screen.

"_This is Snapper Carr reporting, in a stunning turn of events. The Thanagarian forces have ended their occupation of Earth, departing for locations unknown. Once again the world owes a debt of gratitude the selfless heroism of Justice League._"

Shayera turned off the TV and stared at her feet. "They've been in there a long time."

"Yes, they have." Rachel replied.

They were currently waiting for the League to finish their discussion about its future, and the future of its traitorous teammate, in the dining room. Since Shayera had betrayed them, she was prohibited to be involved in the discussion. Rachel had been politely asked to leave, since she wasn't a League member at all.

The two women had spent the past few hours in a discussion of their own. Rachel hoped that would raise the Thanagarian's spirits, even if it's minuscule. Shayera was astounded with what Rachel was telling her. The world that she was from sounded so amazing it might as well have been imaginary.

While Rachel had originally intended to try and make Shayera feel better, her own mood improved well she told the Thanagarian about her world. Talking about how beautiful it was making her remember all the good times she had before everything…

_No! No! Don't think about that, _she thought as shook her head.

Rachel could tell that Shayera was still depressed. She had just lost everything. Just like her, but she was able to gain new friends almost immediately. Shayera had not only betrayed those friends, but also her people. Shayera would now live the rest of her life knowing that the defeat of her species was her fault.

Rachel took a deep breath. "Shayera, look." The former Leaguer looked up at the young girl. "I know at least a part of what you're going through. I know how it feels to lose everything." she raised an eyebrow as Rachel looked down and her hands. The girl mustered up her courage, there's no going back now, "You may have lost your friends' trust, but at least they still have their lives. You can regain their trust, as hard as it might be. My friends and family, everyone that I've ever cared about, was killed less than a few days ago." The words stung horribly, but she'd managed to say it out loud.

Shayera looked at her in shock. The girl had gone through that kind of trauma, and had been thrown into a universe that was completely foreign to her, and she'd still risked her life to save a world that wasn't even hers?

"I'm just gonna say this," Rachel said, "_everyone _here is alive because of the sacrifices you made. Your selfless acts kept the world safe." Sheyera gave the girl a faint smile. Rachel reached out and held her hand. "Whatever they decide in there, _you're_ a hero in my eyes."

Shayera gave Rachel another smile, and this time, however, the smile was genuine.

"She exploited our weaknesses, betrayed us…" Wonder Woman ranted about what Shayera had done to them. At this point, some of her points are probably repeated.

"Come on," Flash countered, the Speedster had been defending Shayera since the meeting started, "she was in the ultimate no-win situation; but when push came to shove, she came through for us, just like always."

"She is a pariah to her people." J'onn added. "We are all she has left."

"Believe me, J'onn, I feel for her." Said Superman, "But after everything that's happened, I honestly don't know if I can ever completely trust her again."

Green Lantern looked at the table, silent since the meeting began.

"We're arguing in circles." Batman stated, "It's time to vote."

"Excuse me, Miss Hol," Alfred said as he entered the room. Both Rachel and Shayera stood up, their faces apprehensive. "They sent for you."

"Thank you, Alfred." The butler nodded, and walked away. Before she headed to the dining room, she gave the ghost-girl a small hug. "Thanks, Rachel."

Rachel returned the gesture, "Of course, Shayera."

She sat back down on the couch as Shayera entered the dining room, what went unnoticed was the invisible duplicate phasing through the wall. Rachel knew that doing this would be rude, but curiosity got the better of her. Shayera was facing the other six League members as they stood in a line, all completely upright. Even Green Lantern, who wore a cast on his right arm.

"Hawkgirl…" Superman began.

Before Superman said another word, Shayera interrupted him. "Before you start, I have something to say." She took a deep breath. "I came to this planet as a patriot. I had a mission and I carried it out... what I couldn't know, was that I would come to care for the Earth and her people." She looked at each Leaguer in the eye; even Batman, who looked at her suspiciously, and Wonder Woman, who looked at her with condescendingly, "that I'd come to care for all of _you_. I've spent the last five years torn between my feelings and my duty. I won't ask you to do the same." She straightened her posture, some of her old flame returning. Therefore, I am resigning from the Justice League, Effective immediately."

Both Rachel and her invisible duplicate widened their eyes, the latter taking great effort not to gasp. Taking Shayera's last words as a cue, the duplicate blinked out of existence. Shayera turned and walk towards the door, leaving her six former teammates stunned. Flash was the first to recover and gave her a hug. As she returned it, the Thanagarian whispered in his ear.

"Tell the others to take care of Rachel; she really needs friends right now."

With that, they separated, and Shayera exited the room without looking back.

"Great," muttered Flash, "no Watchtower, now no Hawgirl; what's gonna happen to the League now? Do we all just walk away?"

"No," J'onn said, "we rebuild. Starting today."

"J'onn's right," agreed Superman, "Earth still needs us, and we'll never let her down. It's our duty."

Green Lantern just looked at the floor, still silent.

Rachel didn't know what to say. While she'd known Shayera for even less time than the rest of the League, but she still counted her as a friend, and now she was leaving? _Where would she go? _Although she wanted to say something, she knew Shayera's made up her mind.

Rachel stood up and gave her one last hug. "Good luck." She muttered as they broke apart and she walked out of the manor. In a way, Shayera was very similar to her. Both women had their lives shattered, and now the former Leaguer is trying to find her own way in the world. Maybe she should try and do the same, but was she ready to do that?

Alfred walked in as Rachel continued to think about her future. "Miss Robertson?" she looked up at the butler. "They're ready for you."

Rachel sighed, got up and smoothed out her clothing. "Thank you Alfred, but you could just call me 'Rachel or 'Rach' even."

They looked at each other for a moment, and then Alfred smirked a little. "Very well, _Miss _Rachel." The ghost-girl smiled in return, shaking her head as rolled her eyes. She entered the dining room, where the Justice League was waiting, minus Green Lantern.

"Okay," Superman began, "now, what to do with you?"

* * *

Shayera stood at the edge of the cliff near Wayne Manor. She heard footsteps, but knew they belonged to. So she didn't turn around

"You never asked how we vote."

Shayera barely looked at John Stewart before returning her gaze to the sunset. "It doesn't matter."

"So… where're you gonna go?"

"I don't know." Shayera answered after the moment. "Some place where the fate of the world isn't in my hands. Someplace where there are no more secrets, no more lies."

"Was it all a lie?"

Shayera turned around, looking Lantern right in the eyes. "I love you, John." She told him. "I never lied about that."

Another a moment had passed, Shayera Hol turned around, spread her wings, and flew off into the sunset.

John Stewart watched her fly away, not knowing where she's going. Once she disappeared from sight, the tears fell down his cheeks.

"I love you too."

* * *

**A/N: There you have it folks! The first chapter of my first fic, I hope you enjoyed it. Now I would love some feedback, because it's you, the readers, that helps me improve and make the story better. Till next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: NOTHING IS MINE! NOTHING, I TELL YOU!**

**First off I'd like to thank you for all the reviews and favorites. It's really motivates me to see that you are enjoying the story. **

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 2

Rachel Robertson stood in the dining room of Wayne Manor before five out of the six remaining members of the Justice League, waiting to see what they planned to do with her. After all, they know very little about the young-girl, she didn't even belong in this universe. Superman cleared his throat, and spoke first.

"Well, Rachel, first off we'd like to thank you for all that you did during the Thanagarian invasion. We couldn't've done it without you." Several Leaguers nodded their heads in agreement.

"Umm, sure, glad I could help." The ghost-girl replied.

"We, however, have a request." Superman continued, "We'd appreciate it if you could tell us more about you and where you come from."

Rachel looked at every League in the eye. Then she took a breath and began.

"Basically, I come from a world where ghosts and humans coexist beside each other. And for some time, we lived together in place. Well, mostly_..._"

Several Leaguers exchanged looks at each other before turning back to the young girl.

"… To help maintain the peace and order of my Earth, a division called the 'Guardian program' was created. The program consisted of mostly ghosts and humans, but over the years, the number of_ Halfas_ in the program increased substantially. "

The League members looked in confusion at the word. Rachel elaborated. "Halfas are part human, and part ghost. You know, like me." Several nods and sounds of "oh" indicated they understood.

"So if you have both a ghost and human side," Diana wondered, "Do this mean you have multiple personalities? "

"No," Rachel said firmly, "I'm the same person regardless; I just have… two different states of being." Diana nodded as Rachel continued with her story.

"Anyway, I became a Guardian when I was eight years old, and for the past ten years. I've been doing my part to keep my world safe. Y'know, fighting for the common good, protecting the innocent, helping those in need, things like that."

The five Leaguers widened their eyes at her words. Apparently this girl has been doing what they all did in their adult lives, but she's only _eighteen_.

Rachel spoke again. "Back then, that was all I've ever wanted. I was happy, I felt at peace with my life." Then her expression turned very bitter. "That is before everything went..." Rachel didn't finish her sentence as she clenched her fists.

"What happened?" Diana asked.

Rachel turned to J'onn. "You're a telepath, right Mr. J'onzz?" the Martian nodded. "Can you look at my memories from a few days ago?"

J'onn looked confused for a moment, but then his eyes glowed as he complied with Rachel's request. A few seconds later, he rocked back in his seat, looking horrified.

"J'onn?" Superman said as he looked at his friend in concern. However, the Martian replied by shaking his head.

"A few days ago," Rachel spoke again; all the Leaguers looked at her. "An old enemy of the Guardians attacked us. Long story short: my parents, my cousin, my friends, and my g-girlfriend were all _killed_." Tears appeared in her eyes, and were threatening to run down her cheeks. "I couldn't save them, I wasn't strong enough. They would still be alive if I had just… Just." The tears finally fell as she began to cry. The members of the League looked at Rachel, devastated by what they had just heard. Then Diana walked up to the weeping girl and hugged her. A few minutes later, Rachel regained her composure, and they separated.

"Rachel, I am terribly sorry for your loss," said Diana, "Do you think that you could wait outside while we discuss this?"

Rachel looked at Amazon, nodding as she wiped her tears with her sleeve. Just before she reached the door, she looked back over her shoulder. "Sorry. "

"You have nothing to apologize for." Diana reassured with a small smile. After Rachel left, the League members turned to look at each other.

* * *

Flash was the first one to speak. "Man… She's had it rough, but are we still gonna offer her a place in the League?"

"She has lost everything that held meaning for her," said J'onn, "her devastation is understandable."

"I had sensed her pain before," Diana added, "but I had no idea they were _that _severe."

"On top of the loss of her family," Batman explained, "she found herself in another universe. She was thrown head first into a battle she didn't want to be involved in, and she's never even got the chance to grieve."

"Then perhaps we should give her some time." The Amazon suggested.

Superman rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "I could take her to my parents' house; give her some space to think and come to terms." He looked at Bruce. "At least it'll get her out of your hair, Bruce."

The Detective simply scowled at Superman with his signature Bat-glare.

"That's not a bad idea Clark." Diana agreed. Then she had a thought "Maybe she could meet your cousin while she's there. It might be good for her to meet someone her own age."

Both Superman and Flash nodded in agreement. "Once she starts feeling better, maybe we can show her around. She did say that Metropolis doesn't exist in her universe." Clark looked at the other Leaguers. All of which gave him an agreeing look. "Now, if there aren't any other matters, I think that we should adjourn for the day."

"Actually," J'onn told them, "there is one more matter concerning Rachel. When I looked into her mind, I saw one thing that we should all be aware of." He paused, as if unsure of what to say. The others frowned at the Martian. Dancing around the subject was strange for J'onn, who was usually very direct in his speech.

"You should all know that before arriving in our universe. She was feeling suicidal."

The others leaned back in their chairs, their expressions grim. Batman was the only one didn't look surprised, or if he did, he hid it well.

Superman sighed and stood up. "I'll tell Kara to keep an eye on her. I won't tell her about this, but I will make sure that Rachel doesn't try anything."

The other Leaguers nodded, then one by one, began leaving the room; some to their homes, while others went to rooms loaned to them by Bruce. J'onn sent a telepathic summary of the meeting to Green Lantern, when Clark left to get Rachel.

* * *

**Sky above Kansas**

Superman and Rachel, now in her ghost form, were flying to Smallville, Clark's home town. Rachel hadn't said much since the meeting, except for agreeing to going with Superman and saying goodbye to the other Leaguers. Superman was relieved to see that the ghost-girl hadn't completely withdrawn into herself after her breakdown. Before the two left, Rachel gave small smiles to each member, even to Batman, and gave Diana a gentle hug.

Thanks to their speed, the Halfa and the Kryptonian reached Smallville shortly after leaving Wayne Manor. When they landed in front of the Kent family farm, Rachel turned back into a human. "This is… nice." She commented, noting the open space. The place looked peaceful and quiet. Which was definitely what she needed right now.

* * *

The sun was just rising over the Kansas horizon; Rachel asked if they would be bothering his parents if they were still asleep, but Clark merely laughed. He told the Halfa that his parents getting up after sunrise is a rare occurrence.

"Ma! Pa! I'm home!" He called out to prove his point.

A moment later, and elderly man and woman opened the door to greet them. While both were getting on in years, they seemed lively and in overall good shape. The woman smiled at the sight of Superman and gave him a warm hug.

"Clark, welcome home."

Clark returned his mother's smile. "It's good to see you both." He turned his head towards Rachel. "Rachel, these are my parents: Jonathan and Martha Kent. I am who I am because of them."

"Awe, Clark." Martha said embarrassingly, "You say the darndest things, now don't be shy come in, come in."

Clark laughed at his mother's remark. "But Ma, you know it's _true_." After Clark and Rachel came into the Kent's home. Rachel thought about how cozy the place felt, and couldn't but smile. As Clark spoke again, she focused back to the Kents. "This is Rachel. I was hoping that you could let her stay here for a few days, maybe a week at the most. At least until we can find a place for her."

Martha looked at the young girl. She seemed sweet, but there was a troubled look in her eyes. She also noticed the scar running down her eye, and wondered what had happened to the poor girl. She exchanged looks with Jonathan, who apparently saw the same thing. This made Rachel blush and look down with embarrassment.

"Uh… Um, I'm sorry if I'm intruding Mister and Misses Kent." She said hastily.

Jonathan blinked and then smiled. "Oh no, no, it's quite alright. We're more than happy to have you as our guest. Why don't you let Martha show you to Clark's old room? You should get some sleep, then we'll give you a tour of the old place."

Rachel looked up at Jonathan, and then smiled. "Thank you very much."

As Martha led Rachel upstairs, Jonathan turned to his son.

"So, Clark, what's the story with the young lady?"

Clark rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Well, during the Thanagarian fiasco…"

* * *

Martha had given Rachel a quick tour around the house, and then led her to Clark's old room. During the Thanagarian invasion, the only thing keeping Rachel awake was adrenaline and focus. Now with that gone, she had nothing left in the tank. After thanking Martha for her hospitality, Rachel plopped onto the bed, and fell asleep instantly. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to get much sleep as she violently woke up, gasping for breath. Cold sweat ran down her face as she remembered the nightmares that plagued her sleeping mind. After wiping her tears off her face and getting her breathing back to normal. She looked at the clock; she had only slept for three hours. She sighed as she realized she wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep. She got out of bed and went to take a shower. Afterwards, she noticed she had been wearing the same clothes for the past few days, and it was starting to show.

_Good going, Rach_, she mentally scolded herself, _this _is _how a lady is supposed to carry herself. _She rubbed her chin, think of a way to quickly wash her clothes. She looked around the bathroom, and she snapped her fingers, an idea striking her. Rachel filled the bathtub with water, and soaked all of her clothes in it. After making sure they were soaked evenly. Rachel picked up her dripping T-shirt, and then turned it intangible; water fell back into the tub as if it was poured from a bucket. Rachel examined her shirt, satisfied that it's now completely clean and dry. _Wow, that work better than I'd hoped_, she thought repeated the process with her other clothes.

* * *

After getting dressed, Rachel walked downstairs to see Martha Kent sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of tea. The latter looked at the young girl with slight surprise.

"Oh, hello Rachel," She said, "I thought you'd still be asleep."

"Well, I haven't exactly been sleeping well lately." Rachel replied, a little embarrassed.

Martha nodded in apparent understanding. "Well, I'm sure I would too, if I found myself in a different universe." At Rachel's shocked expression, she chuckled. "Clark told Jonathan, and Jonathan relayed the message to me."

Rachel smiled and nodded. She was grateful that she doesn't have to explain everything again. It gets redundant after a while. Her smile grew bigger when Martha brought out some pancakes.

"Hungry, sweetie?"

Rachel's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "You have _no _idea, ma'am."

* * *

After Rachel finished her breakfast, she offered to clean up with Martha.

"Oh no, thank you dear, but you can look around the barn to see if Jonathan needs any help. Without Kara around, the farm work can be a little hard for a man his age, but," Martha spoke the next few words in a whisper, "don't tell him I said so."

Rachel smiled and nodded. "My lips are sealed." She replied as she traced zipper motion over her mouth. As she reached for the doorknob, she turned around.

"Who's Kara?"

Martha laughed. "Oh, I forgot, she's Clark's cousin. She goes by the name of Supergirl sometimes."

Rachel's eyebrows rose. "So she has the same powers as Clark?"

Martha nodded.

"Awesome!" Rachel exclaimed with a grin. As she ran out of the house, Martha called out after her.

"Be careful!" she warned, "It's a little chilly outside."

Rachel looked back as she continued running. "I will, thanks!"

* * *

She found Jonathan in the barn, fixing his tractor, or attempting to at least.

"Hi, Mister Kent," Rachel said, "Need a hand?"

Jonathan sighed, and then looked at her. "Know anything about fixing tractors."

"Hmm," Rachel knelt down, examining the tractor. The machine was definitely old, grime and spots of rust appeared on almost every surface. She looked at back at Jonathan. "What seems to be the problem?"

"The old girl would move a few inches," Mister Kent explained, "and then she would die on me."

"Hmm, okay, let take me, take a closer look." She turned back to the tractor and activated her holographic interface. Jonathan raised an eyebrow at the sight of the small visor-like device. Looking through the interface, Rachel saw various parts of tractor being outlined, small bits of text appeared all over the place. Then a red outline caught her attention, she zoomed in on it as she realized the problem. Smiling, she turned back to Mister Kent. "There's a bolt loose in the engine, do you have a 5/16th wrench?"

Jonathan rummaged in his toolbox, and handed Rachel the wrench. Turning her arm intangible, she reached into the engine, and tightened the bolt. Satisfied, Rachel took her hand out, and deactivated her interface.

"Okay, try it now." Jonathan turned the key, and the tractor roared into life. Mister Kent sat on the seat, and drove it out of the barn, parking it a few away. He turned it off and looked at Rachel, who followed him out.

"Purrs like a kitten." Mister Kent boasted as he tapped the tractor's chassis.

Rachel couldn't help but giggle. "If you say so, Mister Kent."

"By the way," Jonathan wondered, "How did you find the problem so quickly?"

The ghost girl shrugged. "Technology, Mister Kent, it does wonders."

"Well, you do have a point," he agreed, "but I'm just too old of all the gadgets and gizmos."

"So, still need help with anything?"

"Actually, yes…"

* * *

_Ahhh… this never gets old, _thought Kara Zor-El Kent, aka Supergirl, as she flew through the air, performing various aerial maneuvers as she did so. Kara was flying back to the Kent farm from Gotham city, where she'd been keeping her friend Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, company during the Thanagarian occupation. Once Batman had returned, she decided to go home before the Detective kicked her out of "_his_" city.

Once she reached the farm, she rushed into her room using her super speed, changing out of her costume, walked out of her room wearing a plain white T-shirt and jeans. Before Kara walked back downstairs, she noticed that the door to Clark's room was partially open. _That's odd _she thought. Did this mean that her cousin was here? If he was, why didn't he call her on her to let her know that he was back?

Kara walked downstairs and when she found Martha, she asked her question.

"Um, is Clark here?"

Martha looked at Kara. "Yes, he was, but he just came by to drop off a guest."

"We have a guest?" Kara cried, suddenly worried. Clark was always lecturing her about not using her powers in Smallville. She hoped that this guest hadn't seen her flying in.

"Clark brought her here this morning," Martha explained, "before heading back to Metropolis. Her name is Rachel; by the way, she's going to be staying here for a few days."

"Does she know about…" Kara etched a diamond shape on her shirt, the outline of the"S-shield" on Superman's uniform.

"Apparently Rachel flew here herself, right alongside you cousin." Martha looked Kara in the eye. "But be gentle with her, okay? She's had a rough time lately."

Kara nodded, and headed outside. Her mind was brimming with questions. What was Rachel like? What other powers did she have? Was she an alien like her? Was she a hero also?

* * *

She walked into the entrance of the barn, but then froze. Floating a few feet the rafters of the barn was a girl about her age with long flowing white hair. She had just finished stacking a hay bale when she turned back to Jonathan.

"Is that all of them, Mister Kent?"

"Yep, that's all of 'em." Jonathan replied.

The white-haired girl turned her head and saw Kara walk up behind him. "Oh, hello, " she said in a sweet voice as she floated back down to the ground. Jonathan turned to look at his adopted daughter. "You must be Kara…"

Kara simply nodded, still looking in awe at the girl in front of her, taking in her stunning blue eyes. It was slightly difficult for her to look at the girl's hair; it's like the locks themselves were emitting light.

"Nice to meet you." The girl held out her hand. "I'm Rachel. Rachel Robertson."

Kara didn't respond as she looked suspiciously at the scar on the other girl's face. Wondering what the story was behind it.

Rachel smiled, and tilted her head slightly, eyeing the blonde girl's blank stare. "Uhm, Kara? You there?"

At the words, Kara blinked several times. "Wh-What?"

"You were kind of zoning out there, sweetheart." Jonathan informed.

"Oh I, Uh." Kara exclaimed as her cheeks turned pink.

Rachel just kept her warm smile. "It's okay Kara, relax." Kara did so after taking a deep breath. Then the two girls shook heads.

Jonathan yawned as he stretched, causing both teens to look at him. "Sorry," he said, "but I'm going to take a nap inside. Old age is a pain." He grumbled the last part.

After he left the barn, Rachel turned to Kara.

"So," she began, "I was told that you're cousin, huh? Can you fly too?"

Kara, having recovered from her mishap, lifted herself a few feet off the ground. Rachel expressed a grin on her face, showing perfect, white teeth.

"That's so cool."

Kara looked her, confused. "Why are you impressed? Ma told me you flew here with Clark."

"True," Rachel said as she floated up to Kara's level, "But I've always thought flying was cool. There's just something about it that always makes me feel…" she rubbed her chin as she tried to find the right word, "… relaxed."

Kara smiled at Rachel; she felt the same way.

"Well," Rachel spoke again as she look at the floor of the barn, it was littered with dirt and hay. "Now I gotta sweep out the barn."

Before Kara could ask how Rachel planned to do it. The girl straightened her arms at a slight downward angle, palms facing the floor; a second later, blue energy glowed from her hands. Kara's eyes widened as she looked at Rachel's hands, and then to the floor. The floor was now being covered by a thin layer of swirling energy, with all the dirt and hay resting on top of it. Rachel raised her arms as she flipped her hands, palm facing the ceiling, as she did so, the platform rose a few feet. Then Rachel pushed her arms forward, sending the platform out of the barn. As the platform disappeared a few feet away, the dirt and hay fell to the ground in a series of thuds, leaving the floor of the barn was now spotless.

Rachel smiled as she admired her handiwork. Then she turned to see Kara staring at her, eyes threatening to burst from her sockets.

"That was awesome!"

Rachel shrugged as her cheeks turn slightly pink. "Awe, thanks Kara."

Kara then flew right up to Rachel, fists clenched in front of her, giddy with longing. "You _gotta _tell how you did that?"

"Um," Rachel replied, "it's kind of a long story."

"I can get some snacks." Offered Kara.

"Ooh! Okay."

* * *

A few hours passed as Kara listened to Rachel tell her about her world, her powers, as well her adventures as a Guardian.

"So is your sensory like enhanced senses, like Clark and I?" asked Kara.

"Well, not exactly," Rachel replied, "I don't have super hearing or a bazillion kinds of visions. My sensory allows me to get a scope of my surroundings."

The blonde Kryptonian nodded, and Rachel continued. "It's like a sixth sense; I can feel when people are approaching near my position. It really helps when someone is trying to sneak on me too, but it's up to me to act upon them, I can be fooled if I lose focus."

"How far can you sense things?" Kara wanted to know.

Rachel rubbed her chin for a second. "Hmm, I can find out." With that, the ghost-girl narrowed her eyes as she stared at the horizon. A few seconds later, she looked back at Kara. "There's a town that way." She said as she jerked her head to indicate the direction. "I got about half way through."

"That's a mile and a half." Kara calculated as her eyes widened again. Rachel smiled as she shrugged.

Next Rachel told Kara about her world. Kara was amazed to hear how the living coexisted with the dead. In her mind, those were as opposite as it could get. One other thing that caught her interest were the Halfas, Kara figured they had the best of both worlds, empowered by aspects from both the living and the dead. Kara was also surprised to hear that there were floating islands in Rachel's world.

"Wait, how is that even possible?" she questioned skeptically. She realized that Argos, Krypton's sister planet and Kara's former home-world, had similar levitation technology. However, it was nothing compared to how Rachel described them.

"The islands were the result of the coexistence, "Rachel explained, "I guess the energies of both the living and dead sort of altered the laws of physics."

Kara still had trouble believing it, but she nodded, signaling for Rachel to continue. Kara had been like a little kid at story time; neither her cousin nor Batgirl told her stories like this. In fact, Flash was the only hero that consistently told her stories, and she was pretty sure he stretched the truth on all of them.

Rachel was now telling her a story from her days as a Guardian. Kara was completely shocked at hearing that she had started out when she was only eight years old. It's possible that Rachel has more experience than any hero she knows.

After they finished, Kara shook her head, grinning. "You've had the craziest adventures." Then her expression that turned serious as her grin disappeared. Leaning forward slightly, she asked. "So is it true you want to be a hero anymore?"

Rachel sighed. She knew that question was coming. Steeling herself, she answered. "I never really said that, I-I just." Her voice trailed off, she thought she could say why she wanted to give being a protector, but she couldn't. Rachel decided to counter with her own question.

"Do you know what it's like to lose everyone that you ever cared about?"

Kara looked at her for a moment, and then looked at her feet. "I do, actually."

Rachel's eyes widen at Kara's answered. "Really?"

Kara looked at the ghost-girl. "Did Clark tell you about what happened to our home planet, Krypton?"

Rachel nodded. Since Rachel told the League her story, Clark thought it was only fair to tell her his own."

"Well, when Krypton exploded, I was on Argo, Krypton's twin planet; it had been thrown out of orbit, and was freezing over. We didn't have long before we would all die. Most of us were put into stasis so that there would be food and supplies for the scientists that were working on a way to save everyone else. It didn't work."

Tears began to form in the corners of Kara's eyes, she quickly blinked them away.

"When Clark found me, I was the only survivor; all of the other stasis pods had failed." She looked back at Rachel. "What happened to you?"

Now it was Rachel's turn to look at her feet. "An old enemy attacked my home." She paused for a moment, and then looked Kara in the eye. "I was the only survivor too."

Kara looked at Rachel in shock; the former was fighting hard to hold back her tears. The Kyptonian had no idea they had shared similar tragic experiences. However, Kara had several years to grieve and come to terms with it. Rachel only had a couple of days.

* * *

The two girls sat in silence for a few minutes, admiring the red color of the setting sun. After the sun disappeared, Rachel and Kara floated back to the ground. After they headed indoors, Martha smiled at them, but did a slight double-take at Rachel.

"Rachel? Is that you?"

Kara looked at her adopted mother, and then at Rachel, confusion on her face. "Rach?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry." Said Rachel as her blue rings appeared again, turning her back into a human.

Kara saw Rachel's eyes are now green and her hair a light brown. The Kryptonian looked absolutely stunned. "Wait, so you're…"

"Yeah, I'm a Halfa too. Sorry I didn't mention that earlier." Rachel said with an apologetic smile.

The Kents and their guest then enjoyed a lovely dinner. Rachel was happy to see how strong the Kents' family bonds. No wonder Superman was so happy to see his family. The thought stung Rachel a bit as she remembered her family, but she quickly brushed it aside. She decided to share few more stories, bring up even more questions from Kara.

"Wait," she said as if want to make sure she heard correctly, "So that Nerve Pinch thing really does work?"

Rachel thought for a moment. "Well, you have to do just right. Otherwise the person just turns around and sees you there looking like an idiot."

"Whoa," was Kara said in response.

After dinner, Rachel and Kara headed towards their rooms. It had been a long day, and both were drained emotionally from their experiences.

* * *

_Rachel knew where she was. She had been calling this place home for the past ten years. Landing on the ground, she looked at the horrible sight in front of her. The fire seemed to bore into her eyes. Bodies and puddles of green liquid laid everywhere. Without hesitation, she ran, a terrible fear gripping her. Then she saw them, two puddles of liquid laid on the ground next to a body. She knew what those puddles used to be, she had spent her entire life with them. Then she looked at the body, a pained and shocked was clearly visible on the face. Her knee buckled as she collapsed, tears flowing down her face. This couldn't be happening! WHY?! Then she heard laughter, a humorless, sadistic laughter that would forever be embedded in her ears…_

* * *

"_No!_" Rachel sat up straight on the bed, drenched in cold sweat, tears falling down her cheeks. After slowing her breathing, she looked at the clock, 1 AM. Rachel sighed as she realized she'd only slept for four hours. She wiped the tears away, and then sat on the edge of the bed. After she did so, she covered her face with her hands, trying to shake the effects of the nightmare out of her. She was wearing a white nightgown that Martha had loaned her. She looked up from her hands when she heard the door open.

"Rachel?"

Kara stood in her doorway, wearing her own pink nightgown. Her face was contorted with concern. Thanks to her super hearing, she had heard the Halfa moaning and softly crying in her sleep. After a few minutes, she heard Rachel cry out, and rushed into her room.

Rachel stared at Kara for a moment, and then she gripped the edge of the bed as she hung her head, sobbing and whimpering. Kara widened her eyes and froze a moment, and then sat down next to the ghost-girl and wrapped her in a tight embrace. Rachel continued to cry into Kara's shoulder. Kara let a few of her own tears fall, both of those she had lost, and for her friend.

They stayed there for a long time; alien and ghost, brought together by loss.

* * *

**A/N: There you go! Second Chapter is done. I would like to inform you readers that I'll be starting school soon. So it might hinder my update rate, for that I apologize.**

**For those that are concerned, Rachel's holographic interface is similar to Iron Man's helmet display. I hope that illustrates it better for you guys.**

**Regarding some of your questions: Rachel is not a version of Danny Phantom, she is her own person. I won't spoil too much, but yes, Danny will be in this story. **

**Next Chapter would bring more action than this one. Stay frosty, and remember to review. Thanks a lot!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I just want to confirm, I don't own anything Danny Phantom or DC.**

**Just in case you didn't know.**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 3

Kara stayed with Rachel for most the night, she only left when she knew the elder Kents would soon be waking up. Just before she opened the door, however, she turned back to take another glance at the sleeping girl. She couldn't help but smile at how peaceful Rachel looked. Just a few hours ago, the Halfa was sobbing uncontrollably, and completely distraught. Kara's smile faded when she realized she might've been staring for a bit too long and exited the room.

The next few days might not have been eventful, but they were very soothing for Rachel. She spent her entire day helping the Kents with either chores or farm work, completing them was a breeze thanks to her powers. Although she did try to make it a work out for herself, she didn't want to get rusty just because the work was easy.

Rachel had more company than just the Kent family. Superman would visit from Metropolis every other day to check up on her, as well as the other members of the League. Only they came alone, and in their civilian clothes, to avoid suspicion. Batman, however, only called the Kent home once, and only briefly. Rachel found the act a bit strange; she never saw the Detective as the comforting type. Still, it did wonders for Rachel's emotional state to find out that there were people who cared for her. She wasn't alone.

After completing her work, she would spend her free time with Kara; usually involving Rachel demonstrating more of her powers, telling more about her world, or more of her adventures. However, today was a special case; Kara had asked Rachel to a sparring match, which the ghost-girl was more than happy to accept. They were currently standing about ten feet apart, eyeing each other intensely.

* * *

Kara made the first move and charged at Rachel, fist cocked back, aiming straight for the ghost-girl's face. Rachel deflected the attack to the side; the momentum of Kara's fist caused the Kryptonian to spin around. Rachel took the opening and lightly pushed Kara back a few feet. The blonde Kryptonian looked at her opponent stunned.

"You were telegraphing." informed Rachel as she got back into her stance.

Kara regained her focus and nodded. "Right."

Kara flew towards her again, this time sending a flurry of punches with blinding speed. Her attacks were making ripples in the air. With some effort, the ghost-girl blocked all of them by making angular movements with her arms. Rachel had to admit, Kara was definitely up there in terms of sheer strength and speed, but she lacked control. If Kara wasn't careful; she might cause more damage than she intended. Rachel lightly tapped Kara on the side of her neck; the Kryptonian reacted slightly at being hit. Seizing the opportunity, the Halfa aimed a haymaker at Kara's cheek. Kara blocked it with her arm, but then she grunted a little as Rachel hit her in the gut. Rachel tapped Kara's neck again, the Kryptonian had moved to block it, but got there a second too late. The Halfa then followed through with an elbow thrust aimed at Kara's throat. She stopped inches before making contact. They were just sparring after all. Refusing to let up, Rachel extended both her arms, and hit Kara squarely across the chest. The force of the blow Kara off her feet and she toppled over backwards.

"You okay?" Rachel asked concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Kara stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes. "So, what did I do wrong there?"

Rachel blinked. "HM? Oh! Your eyes were moving all over the place. My advice," Kara looked at Rachel pointed two fingers at her eyes, "keep'em right here."

"Got it." As soon as Kara finished, she swung her leg at Rachel's head. The ghost-girl was barely able to duck under it. _Wow, she's fast! _Instinctively, Rachel grabbed Kara's ankle and threw her up into the sky. Kara was able to stop herself after a couple hundred feet. After shaking her head to clear it, the Kryptonian looked down at the ground, trying to locate the Halfa.

"Where'd she go?" she wondered out loud. Suddenly she felt something tug under her armpits, and felt pressure being applied to her neck.

"Ah!" she yelled out in pain. Kara tried to break free, but more she struggled, the more painful it became.

"_Here_ I am." Rachel replied softly as she continued to hold Kara in a Full-Nelson. Kara was trying all she could to break the hold. Rachel had to use most of her strength to keep the Kryptonian from escaping. "Don't try to power of out of it. Just take it easy and-OW!" Rachel couldn't finish her sentence as Kara jerked her head backwards, hitting the ghost-girl directly in the forehead. Rachel let go of Kara and held her forehead. She felt like she was just hit by a wrecking-ball in full swing. Kara seized the opportunity and used her super breath to blow the ghost-girl back towards the Earth. Rachel was still stunned by Kara's last attack, and so couldn't defend herself. She landed on the ground a little harder than she'd liked; the impact sent jolts through her body.

Rachel looked up to see Kara floating leisurely back down to the ground, arms crossed with a smirk on her face.

"Not gonna lie, Kara," she said, getting to her feet, "that _really_ hurt."

Kara's smirk faltered when she saw the light bruise on Rachel's forehead. She didn't mean to hit her that hard. "Sorry," she replied apologetically.

"Don't be." Rachel brushed off with a wave of her hand. Kara blinked at the Halfa in confusion. "You got out of the hold, that's all that matters." Kara smiled at Rachel as the two got back into their stances. "Ready to go again?"

"You bet."

* * *

**Gotham City, The Batcave**

Batman sat at his computer, lost in thought. He had barely left his chair since Rachel had left with Clark. He had even entrusted Batgirl and Robin to cover more patrol duties for him, much to the surprise of both his young partners. He stared at the image on his computer. An image of Rachel Robertson stared back.

Bruce heard footsteps approaching from behind him, but he didn't turn around. Thanks to years of training, the Detective knew how to recognize the pattern of an individual's footsteps, and even without training, he knew those footsteps anywhere.

"Hello, Alfred."

"You got me again, sir."

"You tried leading with your left foot again." Batman smirked. "It's been a while since you tried to fool me."

"With all due respect, sir, I was worried that your project concerning Miss Rachel had distracted you from all else."

Bruce looked up as his butler placed a tray of food next to him. After looking at the time, he realized he needed to eat too. Bringing his attention back to the screen, he began typing with one hand, while picking up his food with the other. Alfred simply stood behind him and waited.

"What is it, Alfred?"

"Sir," The Butler began with a hint of nervousness in his voice, "Rachel Robertson is not Bruce Wayne."

Bruce turned around and gave his butler a sharp look. "Are you so sure, Alfred? She lost her family, and the girl she loved, everyone who was important to her. How is she not like me?"

"I suppose this is why you are helping her?"

"When my parents died, I was left millions of dollars, I was the heir to an incredibly successful company, and I had a home. Rachel comes from another universe. She has nothing. This way, she can at least have an identity. She can have a normal life."

"Are you going to bribe her into joining your cause?"

Bruce sighed, and paused for a moment. "No, I am not. But if she decides to give up the life of a hero and start over, I can give her the foundation to do it."

Alfred nodded. "I understand, sir."

Batman resumed typing for a moment, and then printed out a piece of paper, which he handed to the butler.

"Call Superman," he instructed, "tell him to give this to Rachel before he tries to introduce her to anyone."

* * *

**Kent Farm**

The sun was setting as Rachel and Kara stared at each other. After sparring for hours, both girls were left panting heavily, and slightly scuffled. Rachel was impressed at how well Kara performed, even though her technique was still somewhat rough around the edges, she made up for it with sheer power. The few hits that Kara landed on Rachel were still aching. Kara still felt overwhelmed by the Halfa's superior fighting skills; she'd lost count of how many times she felt Rachel's fists make contact with her body. Although Rachel wasn't as strong as the Kryptonian, she was equal to her in speed, if not faster. The ghost-girl took a deep breath and stood upright.

Kara raised an eyebrow, but didn't break from her stance. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"It's getting late," replied Rachel as she walked towards Kara, "we should get back."

"_What?_" Kara exclaimed. "Aww, come on! We can go for a little longer."

Rachel gave Kara a small smile. "I get that you're excited, but rest is just as important as training. Besides, I don't want Mister and Misses Kent to worry."

"I'll be fine, and there's nothing to worry about. C'mon _Please_." Rachel just stared at the other girl; Kara was acting like a child being told that she had to leave the playground. In all honesty, it was kind of cute.

"_Kara,_" Rachel said slowly. "Don't make me pinch you." As she said it, the Halfa made a pinching motion with her thumb and index finger.

This made Kara roll her eyes. "Like _that_ can do anything," she doubted with a smirk, "I'm a Kryptonian, I'm-"

Before Kara could finish her sentence, her eyes widened in shock as her body seized up. Rachel looked over Kara's shoulder and saw her duplicate appear out of thin air behind her, pinching the base of Kara neck. As soon as the duplicate released her grip on Kara, the unconscious Kryptonian toppled forward; Rachel reacted quickly and caught her. Rachel exchanged looks with her duplicate; the latter smiled at the dozing Kara and shook her head before disappearing. Then Rachel turned back into a human, and held Kara in a bridal carry as she walked back into the Kent's home.

* * *

A week had passed since Rachel had arrived at the Kent farm, and on the morning of the seventh day, she had a pleasant surprise.

She had actually slept through the entire night. Thinking more deeply, she realized she had slept more soundly ever since her first night at the Kent's.

The nightmares were still there, however, so her slumber wasn't exactly restful. Still, it's better than waking up crying in the middle of the night.

After showering and cleaning her clothes with intangibility (She really needed to get some new clothes), she headed downstairs. She was mildly surprised to find Clark at the table, sipping a cup of coffee, and dressed in civilian clothes.

"Morning, Rach." The Man of Steel called casually, "How'd you sleep?"

"Better than usual," Rachel replied, "but that's not saying much."

"Still having nightmares?"

Rachel sighed as she joined Clark at the table. "I don't know if I'll ever get rid of them, but honestly, part of me doesn't want to."

Clark blinked a few times, confused. "Why wouldn't you want to…"

"Because… the nightmares are worth waking up at night if it means I can see them. When they died… There was nothing left." Rachel looked down at her hands, sadness falling over her.

Clark wanted to quickly change the subject, and slid a piece of paper across the table to her.

"Batman asked me to give this to you." He smiled timidly. "I doubt I was supposed to read it, but I got curious."

Rachel raised an eyebrow at the Man of Steel. "So much for you being a boy scout."

Clark gave a light chuckle, remember Flash saying something similar after the Justice League defeat the Justice Lords, their evil, parallel-dimension counterparts.

"Never even got my first merit badge." He remarked before taking another sip of his coffee.

Rachel chuckled, and then studied the paper in front of her. Her eyes widened as she read. It was a short summary of her life. Only, she knew it wasn't _her _life. Instead, it was the life of Rachel Robertson existed in this universe. The details on the paper were vague, but Rachel realized she was given a rough draft of a new life.

According to the paper, her entire family had recently died in a tragic accident (which wasn't entirely wrong), and while she was waiting to receive property that had belonged to her family, she was staying with the Kents, who were apparently family friends.

Rachel blinked. _Wait, what property? _She looked over at Clark, who just shrugged.

"Guess he's looking out for you."

Rachel smiled a little. "Aww, that's really sweet."

Clark grinned as well. "Bruce might not act like it, but he's one of the most caring people on the planet. He once changed the retirement policy throughout Wayne Industries just so one employee didn't have to retire."

"Aww." Rachel responded as she put a hand over her heart. While she realized that Batman wasn't all Bruce Wayne was, she never figured the man could be _that_ nice. Rachel would have to return the favor someday.

After a moment of awkward silence, Clark asked, "Say, Rachel, you haven't seen much of Metropolis, right? I mean other than when you first arrived in this universe."

Rachel smirked at a little at Clark. "You mean Metropolis _without _Thanagarians invading it? No, I haven't."

Clark smiled. "Yeah, alien invaders don't exactly attract tourists. Anyway, I figured that I'd show you around the place. After all, a week on a farm could get boring."

Rachel didn't necessarily agree. She didn't mind being on the Kent farm. She was actually pretty happy when she was staying with them. The Kents were very good people, and the chores weren't at all any difficult. It was only yesterday that things were starting to change. Kara's school had reopened, which meant the world had mostly recovered from the Thanagarian invasion. Thus, Rachel's newest friend had to finish her last few months of high school. Rachel admittedly was a little saddened that now she had to spend her free time alone. She thought she could pass the time by excising, but there are only so many pushups she could do before it got incredibly boring, also sparring with a duplicate was redundant as they could both counter each other's moves perfectly.

Rachel shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to sightsee. After all, Metropolis doesn't exist back home."

Clark nodded and grinned. "Great. I can introduce you to a few friends of mine. You should probably leave a note for my parents; tell them you'll be with me for a couple of days."

As Clark got up to change into his costume, Rachel quickly went up to her room, where she grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil. She quickly wrote a note explaining to the elder Kents where she was going, and that she would return in a few days

She then remembered she should leave a note for Kara. Rachel wondered if she was still a little upset at how their sparring match abruptly ended. After writing the same thing on the note, she added.

_P.S._

_Sorry about pinching you, but I'd love to spar with you again sometime._

_Thanks for being there for me,_

_Rachel_

Before the Halfa went back downstairs, she slid the note to Kara under her door. She got back down the stairs to see Superman waiting near the door, already in his costume and tapping his foot impatiently. Rachel quickly placed the note on the kitchen table and changed into her ghost form.

They then flew off at a leisurely pace, not in any real hurry to get to Metropolis. Superman pointed at a building below them.

"We're passing over Kara's school; she just waved at us."

Rachel look at the direction Superman was, but unlike the Man of Steel, she didn't have supervision, and therefore she could only see small squares below. She activated her holographic interface, and zoomed in to find Kara smiling up at them. Rachel smiled back and waved at Kara, who waved back.

Rachel and Superman resumed their course. After a moment, the Man of Steel turned his attention to the Halfa.

"Is there anything that visor _can't _do?"

Rachel laughed and shrugged. "Don't know. It hasn't failed me yet."

Superman nodded in understanding.

"By the way, how did you know that I'm having nightmares?" asked Rachel.

Superman's eyes shot forward for a moment. "I got home about an hour before you woke up." Then tapping his ear, he continued. "Super hearing."

"Ah." Rachel replied with understanding.

* * *

**The city of Metropolis**

Clark guided Rachel back to his apartment, where Clark quickly changed back into his civilian attire. Rachel, however, simply let her blue rings do the job for her.

Rachel looked around Clark's home. "Nice place." She commented.

"Thanks." Clark replied, "It's not a bad feat on a reporter's salary."

Rachel nodded; remembering that Martha had told her that Clark worked part-time as a journalist.

"Oh, one more thing," said Clark as he reached into his pocket, he pulled out a small circular object and handed it to Rachel, "here."

Rachel took it and recognized it as a cosmetic compact. "Make up?" she asked as she looked at Clark. "What, am I not pretty enough for you?"

Clark's cheeks flushed pink at Rachel's words. "N-no, it was just that Bruce thought that covering the scar would avoid any unwanted attention."

Rachel couldn't help but feel a little awkward. Although it had been difficult for, she'd eventually learned to live with the mark on her face. However, she saw the logic in Batman's suggestion, and didn't want to push the matter any further than it needs to be. "Um, okay…" she replied slowly as she opened the compact and started to apply the makeup, keeping track with the built-in mirror.

A few minutes later, Rachel looked back at Clark. "How do I look?"

Clark smiled at the girl. "Don't even notice it."

Rachel returned the smile as Clark grabbed his briefcase, and then they both left the apartment, where they took a cab ride to Clark's office. As they exited the taxi, Rachel starred amazed at the building in front of her. She remembered seeing the golden planetoid sculpture that stood on top the Daily Planet.

Rachel turned back to Clark. "You know something? This is the first building I saw when I first got _here_."

Clark understood her meaning and grinned. "Well, now you can use it as a landmark."

Before Rachel could respond, she saw a woman waving at them. Rachel saw Clark's eyes light up at the sight of her, and smiled a little. The Halfa could understand why, the woman had a good figure, long black hair, and was _very_ good looking. She wore a purple dress jacket and a short, white skirt. Even Rachel had to admit that she was slightly attracted to the woman.

"Hey, Smallville." The woman greeted.

Rachel chuckled at Clark's nickname as she looked at the man. "_Smallville?_"

Clark's cheeks turned pink. "Yeah, yeah, it's _very_ funny." He said remarked sarcastically.

Rachel patted Clark on the back, attempting to comfort the man. "No, no, it's cute actually."

The woman smiled at Rachel before turning back to Clark. "So, who's your friend?"

Rachel took the initiative, and held out her hand. "Rachel Robertson, pleasure to meet you Miss…"

"Lois Lane." She finished as the two shook hands. "So, how'd you know Smallville?"

Rachel frowned as she tried to remember the details of Bruce's paper. "Well, uh… I… My…"

Clark noticed the girl's discomfort and stepped in. "Lois, Rachel's family died in an accident, she's been staying with my family."

Lois put a hand to her mouth, and then put both hands on Rachel's shoulders.

"I'm so sorry."

Rachel smiled slightly. "I'll be fine, but thank you."

Lois nodded, and then turned to address them both.

"Let's go Smallville, we can give the young lady a tour of the place."

Clark nodded, and then guided Rachel inside the building.

* * *

Rachel surveyed the huge office. The Daily Planet must be a very successful newspaper if they had _this_ amount of space to work in. Even the Batcave wasn't this big. The room had high ceilings, a great view of Metropolis, and every reporter had an enormous desk at their stations.

Clark and Lois had introduced more people working at the Planet. One of which was a young man around her age named Jimmy Olson. Jimmy was a photographer, mostly worked with Clark and Lois. Rachel thought that Jimmy was a nice guy, maybe a little timid, but that's understandable considering where and who he worked with.

At the moment, Jimmy was being criticized be Lois over something that he had done, while Clark was trying to defend him. Rachel smiled at the group; she remembered how she used to be chewed out over the tiniest details. Then the memory saddened Rachel, because usually Robin and Jonah were with her. However, it wasn't as painful to think about them anymore, because she had the support of every member of Justice League, the Kents, and… Kara. The time she has spent with them acted like her own therapy, each day became easier to think about. She still had a long way to go, but she was definitely getting better.

While the three journalists argued, Rachel looked at the walls. Every few feet or so was a framed copy of past Daily Planets, with the oldest one dating back several years. Rachel noticed the article had the first official appearance of Superman on it. Other front-pagers also featured stories on either Superman or the Justice League, all of which seemed to be written by either Lois or Clark. The Halfa smirked whenever she saw Clark's name under an article featuring Superman. _No wonder they're on the wall. His interviews are as exclusive as it could get!_

Further thought was interrupted as a balding, middle-age man ran up to his three employees.

"What is it, Perry?" asked Clark, seeing the concern on the man's face.

"I've been told that Bizarro is heading in this general direction." Judging from everyone's tense reaction, Rachel guessed that this _Bizarro _must be some sort of super villain, and a powerful one at that. Perry continued.

"Lane, Kent. Take Olson and get down there in case Superman shows up. And _you,_ young lady," The old man gave at Rachel a steely look, "Don't go anywhere, and don't touch anything. Got it?" Rachel gave Perry a mock two-finger salute.

"Smallville," said Lois as she hurried to her, "you and Jimmy go first, I need to get my stuff."

The two men nodded and ran off.

Rachel walked up to Lois as she continued to gather her things.

"So," Rachel began hesitantly, "how bad is this Bizarro character?"

Lois gave the young girl a quizzical look.

"Think of Superman," explained the journalist, "but only twisted, evil, and stupid."

Rachel's eyebrows shot upwards, after seeing how powerful Superman was, this supposed evil twin of his could do a lot of damage.

Suddenly, Rachel and Lois heard an explosion. They ran down the hallway to see what caused it, as they turned the corner. Lois stopped abruptly and pulled Rachel behind her. The younger girl leaned her head out the corner, and saw tall green mechanical figures walking down the hall. Rachel squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again; she wanted to make sure she wasn't just seeing things.

Pulling her head back, Rachel asked Lois in a whisper. "Uh, why are there man-sized toy soldiers in the building?"

"Toyman." Lois hissed as she waited for the soldiers to pass.

"_Who?_"

"Just another psychopath," replied Lois, and then she glanced at the girl with a serious look. "Rachel, run. I'll go get help."

Rachel realized what she meant by 'help'. "But isn't _he_ busy?"

Lois' expression didn't change. "He'll come for me. Now GO."

Rachel nodded and ran. Lois watched her disappear down the hallway before turning to run in the opposite direction. Before she was able get too far, a pair of toy soldiers blocked her path. Lois stopped and quickly turned around, but another pair of soldiers stood in her way, and in front of them, was a short man wearing a plastic mask with a creepy, sadistic smile.

"Ah, Miss Lane." Toyman said in a childlike voice, it was as creepy as his mask. "I 'm glad you could play with us."

"What do you want?" questioned Lois fearlessly.

Toyman chuckled, sending chills down Lois' spine, but she didn't let her fear show.

"I'm going to deal with you while our old friend Superman is busy with Bizarro."

Lois eyed the short man with hatred. "How'd you get Bizarro to work with you?"

"Oh, it was quite simple," replied Toyman. "You'd be surprised at what he would do if you just tell him the right things."

Toyman then snapped his fingers; the two toy soldiers behind Lois walked forward and grabbed her arms. She tried to shake out of their grasp, but their grip on her was solid.

"Let go of me!" Lois snapped.

"Oh no, no, no," answered the short man, "I have plans for you." He then turned around and walked down the hallway. The toy soldiers that followed him first made an opening for him to pass, and then turned to follow him. The soldiers holding Lois starting walking as well, with Lois futilely trying to get free.

* * *

Rachel ran into the women's bathroom, where she leaned on the sink, and stared into her reflection in the mirror. She needed to think for a moment. She knew that she had the power to stop this Toyman from further attacking the Daily Planet, but was she ready to do this again? How can she protect the general population if she couldn't protect the ones she loved most?

Then the memory came back to her, she remembered why she became a Guardian in the first place. Helping those in need wasn't just her duty; it was her passion, her drive. Her decision was clear, checking to see that whole restroom was empty. She turned into her ghost form, and phased out of the room. Then, she turned invisible and flew throughout the building.

After a moment, Rachel noticed a purse on the ground. As she stopped to examine it, her eyes widened as she recognized that it belonged to Lois. Something must have happened to her. Rachel realized that she needed to find Lois fast, she created three duplicates and they all scattered in different directions.

"LET ME GO!"

Rachel heard someone scream, and without hesitation she released the hold on her duplicates, and flew down the hallway. As she rounded the corner, she saw Lois being dragged by two toy soldiers. Rachel rushed forward, and punched one soldier's head clean off its body, leaving frayed and sparking wires. Then spun quickly in midair and kicked the second toy soldier directly in the chest. The force was so strong, the soldier's metal chest caved inward immensely. Both machines released their grip on Lois after being destroyed. Toyman and his two remaining soldiers had stopped and turned as the short man noticed that the two soldiers holding Lois were now bits of scrap metal.

"Wha-" Toyman couldn't finish as two blue energy blasts seemed to appear out of thin air. Destroying the last two toy soldiers behind him, and then the short man shouted in pain as he was sent flying backwards, landing spread-eagled on the floor a few feet away.

Lois was in complete shock. A second ago she being dragged to possibly certain death, now she was standing there, surrounded by bits of metal, and an unconscious man-child a few feet away. Lois wasn't stupid though; she knew someone or at least some_thing_ had saved her, whoever it was, was just invisible at the moment.

"Um, you can come out now." Lois said slowly. "Please?"

Silence littered the hallway; Lois thought that who or whatever saved her had left. Suddenly, she saw something appear right in front of her, causing her to shriek and jump back a few feet.

"You okay, Miss?" Rachel asked.

Lois stared at this _girl_ standing in front of her, eyes wide as cue balls, she was at a complete lost for words. The white-haired girl walked up to Lois, and handed her back her purse.

"You dropped this," the girl explained, "Luckily I got here in time."

Lois just stared into the girl's blue eyes, and then she noticed the scar on her left eye. "S-so," she stuttered, "this was your doing?"

Rachel nodded as she walked away from Lois and towards the unconscious Toyman. After picking him up, Rachel turned back to glance at Lois, who hasn't moved a muscle. "The authorities should be here soon, I'd suggest you exit the building." She turned intangible and started phase through the floor.

"Wait!" Lois finally yelled.

Rachel's still-intangible head popped back up onto the floor. "Yes?" she responded with a small smile.

"C-can't you at least tell me your name? So I can thank you properly?"

Rachel paused for a moment before responding. "My name isn't important, and there's no need to thank me. You stay safe now." With that, she disappeared through the floor. Lois stared wide-eyed at the spot for a few seconds, before she too exited the building.

**There we are! Chapter three is done. Looks like Rachel is ready to protect the world again. I want to take a moment to thank all of you again for the faves, follows, and reviews.**

**Now I'll admit, writing the fight scenes were tough. It was simple imagining how it would look, but translating that into words was a challenge.**

**If you have questions, comments, and concerns. Feel free to pass it to me. Until then, I'll see you all next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the OCs. Now without further ado, here is chapter four!**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 4

The authorities were outside the Daily Planet when Lois exited the building. She noticed a group of Police Officers huddled around the base of the stairs. Lois moved in to get a closer look, and she saw that the Officers were huddled around Toyman, who was still unconscious, with a note on his shirt.

_Fragile, handle with care_

Lois smiled a little when she realized that this was the work of her mysterious savior. Before she had another thought, however, someone shouted behind her.

"Lois!" she turned just in time to see Rachel fling herself at her, holding her in a tight embrace. "Oh, thank goodness you're okay."

"Uh, yeah, I'm-I'm fine." was all Lois could say.

The younger girl released Lois, but didn't take her eyes off her as words flew out of her mouth.

"What happened in there? I did what you said and ran outside, but you never came out. And Superman never got here, I-I was just so worried."

Lois held out both hands. "Whoa, slow down, take it easy." Rachel complied and took a breath. After the younger girl had calmed down, Lois resumed. "I tried to call for help, but Toyman found me."

Rachel gasped as she put both hands to her mouth. "Oh my g- Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm okay, and no, he didn't." Lois answered. "He and his robots were trying to take me somewhere, before…." Her words trailed off as someone shouted nearby.

"Lois! Rachel!"

The two ladies turned to see Clark and Jimmy running at them. Their faces filled with worry.

"What happened here?" Clark asked as Jimmy bent over trying to catch his breath. They must've been running for a while.

"Toyman shook up the place and tried to kidnap me." Lois firmly replied. Clark and Jimmy looked at the woman stunned.

"Are you okay?" Clark asked, concerned. "Did he do anything to you?"

"Yes I am _fine_," Lois responded exasperatedly, "and _no_; he _didn't_, because someone saved me."

Jimmy gave Lois a quizzical look. Clark however glanced at Rachel, who just shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, who saved you?" asked Jimmy.

Lois thought for a moment, she was still trying to put the pieces together. "I don't know, I didn't get her name, but she was a teenager with white hair, blue eyes, and a scar over her eye. She could apparently turn invisible, go through solid objects, and shoot out beams of energy."

Jimmy whistled. "Was she cute?" Clark elbowed him slightly.

Lois narrowed her eyes at the photographer before turning to Clark. "Listen, Smallville, I think I'm gonna call it a day. See you guys tomorrow." She turned and started to walk away from them.

"Yeah," Clark replied, "Stay safe, Lois." She waved her hand at Clark's words, but didn't turn around.

* * *

Awhile later, Clark and Rachel began to walk back to his apartment. Along the way, Clark asked Rachel for more details about what happened in the Daily Planet. After the ghost-girl told him, Clark paused for a minute.

"Thank you for saving her, I wish I could've done it myself, but Bizarro wouldn't back down."

Rachel smiled at the man. "It was no problem; it was the right thing to do."

"So does this mean you're back in the hero game?"

Rachel looked at Clark for a minute, and then nodded. "Like I said, it's the right thing to do."

Clark smiled as he nodded in return. He was glad to see that Rachel had found some of her old fire. Her condition had definitely improved over the past few days.

As the two continued to walk, Rachel had to know something.

"So does Lois know about the…" Rachel placed her fists on her hips, mimicking the pose that she'd seen Superman make in several photos.

Clark chuckled and shook his head. "No, she doesn't know who I am, and I hope that she never finds out, for her sake; I don't want her to get in any more danger than she already is."

Rachel thought about this for a moment; Clark's worry did made sense, but there was one thing that stood out to her: it seemed that Lois Lane was already in as much danger as possible. From what she was told by the Kent family during her stay, Lois was always getting kidnapped, falling off of buildings or getting attacked by super villains. Rachel thought that Lois knowing who Superman was wasn't going to make her life any more dangerous, if at all.

"But… you're in love with her, right?"

Clark's head snapped around so fast that Rachel heard his neck make cracking noises. "How could you tell?"

"Oh, just by the fact that your eyes lit up like a Christmas tree the second you saw her." The Halfa replied with a smirk.

Clark scratched the back of his head. "That obvious, huh?"

"Kind of, so what's the problem? Why not just talk to her? You don't have to tell her who you really are."

Clark stared down at his feet. "She has a thing for Superman."

Rachel stopped walking. She blinked several times and then held up her arms. "Wait. So let me get this straight: you like her, but she likes Superman, who by the way is secretly Clark Kent, so therefore Superman must like her too. Did I miss anything?"

Not sure where the Halfa was going with this, Clark only nodded. Rachel sighed.

"So _just tell her the truth_! Seriously, it would make things a whole lot easier for you, and you both get what you want. Besides it's not like her life will be in any more danger than it already is. You know what she did when Toyman's robots were in the Planet? She went to go get _help_, saying _he'll _come for me. She puts herself into those situations because she knows Superman would be there to save her."

Clark widened his eyes, and then opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out, what the Halfa said had rendered his speechless. Seeing the man's shocked expression, Rachel took a deep breath and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, Clark, I'm not forcing you to tell her who you really are. All I'm saying is that if you want to be in a relationship with her, keeping a secret _this _big won't get you that."

* * *

They continued to walk to Clark's apartment in silence. When they arrived, they were surprised to see someone sitting at Clark's table, sipping for a mug.

"Hey Clark, hey Rach." Waved a very cheerful Kara Kent.

"Kara? What are you doing here?" Clark frowned. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Check your watch, cousin," Kara smirked, "It's Friday and school ended hours ago."

Clark groaned, making Rachel grin. Apparently, Clark's previous conversation with her had made him lose track of time. When Kara got up to put her mug away, Rachel noticed the Blonde Kryptonian was in her costume. Rachel had never seen her wear it before; sure, every superhero in this world wore some kind of costume, but she'd never seen Kara in hers. She wore a white t-shirt with the "S" symbol on it, along with a short, blue micro miniskirt, red boots, white gloves, and short red cape that hung from the shoulders of her shirt. She also had an Alice band on her head to keep her hair back.

"So, what brings you out here, Kara?" asked Rachel.

"I help out Superman whenever I'm in Metropolis." Kara explained. "I was hoping to go on patrol with you, Clark."

Clark put a hand to his mouth to cover a yawn. "Sorry, Kara." He said tiredly. "But I think I'm going to sit this one out. The fight with Bizarro really did a number on me. Maybe you and Rachel can go patrol Metropolis for the day."

Kara looked confusingly at her cousin and friend. "Bizarro? What happened?"

Clark and Rachel exchanged looks. "Rach, can you explain it to her? I am turning in for a little bit, but if you need anything," he tapped his ear to indicate his super hearing, "call me." The two girls nodded.

After Clark went into his room, Kara turned to the Halfa. "Well?" she asked expectantly.

After Rachel finished tell her the story, Kara shrieked with joy and pulled her friend into a bone crushing hug. She was ecstatic to hear that Rachel chose to be a hero again.

"Ow!" Rachel screamed. "Kara!"

Kara quickly released her. "Sorry."

Rachel rubbed her sides in an attempt to dull the pain. "Just a reminder, I break easily when I'm human."

"I'll try to remember that." Kara replied as she went to the window. Looking back at Rachel, she asked. "You coming?"

The Halfa grinned at her, and turned into her ghost form. "You bet."

The two girls flew out the window a moment later. Clark was lying on his bed fully awake, thinking about Lois, and Rachel's words regarding her.

* * *

**Metropolis: Downtown**

"Ugh, this is _so _boring!"

Rachel looked at Supergirl. "We've only been out here for about fifteen minutes."

"I know," the Girl of Steel replied, "but I just wish that _something_ would happen."

"If you think about it though," Supergirl looked at her friend, "maybe nothing is happening because your cousin did all the work." Rachel said as she smirked at Supergirl.

Supergirl stuck her tongue out at the Halfa, who laughed softly.

"Oh relax, 'All good things come to those who wait.'"

At that moment that a large explosion rocked the street, and several armed men ran out of what used to be the front of a bank towards an armored car.

"See?" Rachel turned to Supergirl, but she was already rocketing towards the criminals. "Wait!" Rachel yelled after her, but the Girl of Steel didn't stop. Rachel sighed; she figured that Supergirl had a right to be a little overconfident. From what the Halfa had seen, Kryptonians are invulnerable under Earth's yellow sun, but still, rushing in to a scene without a plan usually leads to disaster. A lesson she learned a long time ago, the hard way. Rachel decided to stay back, and play it safe.

Supergirl wasn't worried one bit. These were just common thieves, and she was bulletproof. Taking these guys out would be a walk in the park. Plus this was a good chance show a veteran like Rachel what she can do. She landed directly in front of the armored car.

"Okay boys," she began, "it's over; drop the money and the guns, and I won't have to- to… "

Supergirl couldn't finish her sentence as she suddenly felt sick and weak. As she collapsed to the ground, she saw a man walk out from behind the getaway vehicle wearing a brown trench coat and a hat that covered his face.

"It is indeed over," The man spoke with slight British accented voice, "for _you_."

Supergirl gasped, she knew that voice anywhere. The man ripped off the coat and took off his hat. Revealing a human looking form, except most of his torso, right arm, and the right half of his face were replaced by gleaming metal. The exposed half of his face looked like a human skull, and a sinister green light glowed from the eye socket. Resting in the center of his chest was a glowing green rock.

"Metallo." The Girl of Steel hissed as she grimaced at the android.

"In the _flesh." _Metallo said as he took a bow. Then he raised his arm, preparing to fire a Kryptonite beam at the squirming Supergirl. "Now _die._"

Supergirl grunted as the Kryptonite continued to drain her strength. She tried to get up but found that she couldn't. She felt like such an idiot. She just _had _to rush into the scene without a second thought. She should have known this would've been too easy. She should've…

She never finished her thoughts on what she should have done, as Metallo fired his shot. All Supergirl could do was watch, eyes wide, as the green beam sped towards her. Suddenly, Rachel landed in front of her and created a dome of energy around her and Supergirl, blocking them both from Metallo's beam.

As the smoke cleared, Rachel turned to the Girl of Steel. "Supergirl! You alright?" The Halfa was actually going to allow Supergirl to handle this alone. After all, she did look like she needed to let off some steam, but when Rachel saw the android appear, and the light from the stone cause her obvious pain. She realized it was time to step in and help.

Supergirl was still weak, Rachel's shield protected her from the Kryptonite's radiation, but it also blocked rejuvenating effect of Earth's sun. Supergirl rose shakily to her feet, her voice weak as she spoke. "Y-yeah."

"What happened? Why did that rock hurt you?"

"Kryptonite," Supergirl explained as she pointed at Metallo's chest. "The radiation is poisonous to me and Superman." Rachel nodded as she turned back to the android and the burglars.

Metallo stared at the two girls with contempt, wondering who the other girl was. He turned back to the group burglars. "Well? What are you waiting for?" he barked at the men, all of which jumped back in fear. "Shoot them!" The men hesitated, but then aimed their guns at the energy shield, and unloaded their ammo. Sparks flew in every direction as the bullets hit the shield, but weren't able to damage it in any way. Rachel watched a moment as they uselessly attempted to break her shield, and then she looked over her shoulder at Supergirl.

"I'll take care of the android. Think you can take care of the goons?"

Kara gave a slight nod. "S-sure, no problem."

The Halfa noticed a lack of confidence in her voice, but realized now is not the time to dwell on the matter. Right now there were criminals shooting at them, and it was really getting on Rachel's nerves. Rachel created a duplicate of herself outside the shield; this caused Metallo and the burglars to stop shooting and looked shockingly at her. Before they could react, the duplicate charged at Metallo, yanking the Kryptonite from his chest.

"No!" Metallo shouted as the rock was disconnected from his body. Almost immediately his systems were shut down, rendering the android motionless. The duplicate then slightly pushed Metallo in the chest with her finger, making him topple over with a metallic thud. She held Kryptonite as her hand glowed blue. A split second later, the glowing rock exploded, leaving nothing behind but a small patch of smoke. The duplicate gave a last glare at the burglars, who were shaking with absolute fear, before vanishing at the same time Rachel dropped her shield.

Now exposed to the sun's energy, Supergirl attacked with a vengeance. The burglars tried to run, but they had no chance. Rachel almost felt sorry for them, _almost_. In less than a minute's worth of punches and kicks, they were all unconscious on the ground, and groaning slightly. As the police arrived to take Metallo and the would-be bank robbers into custody, a crowd of people had gathered on the streets and cheered for the two girls. Rachel waved at them and gave them a reassuring smile as she flew into the air. Supergirl quickly followed her.

* * *

After the two landed on the roof of a building several blocks away, Kara walked over to the edge and sat down; hugging her legs and tilting her head down. Rachel could tell that Kara was upset. She sat down next to her and waited a couple of seconds before deciding to speak to her.

"You want to talk about it?"

Kara just shook her head in response.

"Trust me, Kara." She said. "We should; it'll make you feel better."

Kara looked at Rachel, into those dazzling blue eyes, and then she sighed. "I messed up. Clark's been telling me and teaching me to fight smarter but, I don't know, I guess I just wanted to prove myself, so I ran in without really thinking."

Rachel looked at her friend, surprised. "You wanted to prove yourself? Wait, do you mean to _me_?"

Kara returned her gaze to the Halfa, and nodded.

"Oh Kara," Rachel said as she pulled Kara into a hug. The latter's cheeks flushed slightly at the embrace. After they broke apart, the Halfa continued. "You don't need to prove yourself to me. Anyone that can do half of what _you _can do, has my respect."

"But you don't get it," claimed Supergirl, "you've done so many things for your world; people still see me as Superman's kid cousin, his sidekick."

Rachel paused for a moment. She understood how Kara felt; living behind someone's shadow can be tough, especially when that shadow belongs to someone as powerful as Superman.

"Then that just means you'll have to work harder to show that you're your own person. Eventually people will see you for the hero that you are."

Supergirl smiled, Rachel took that as a sign that she was getting through to her.

"Okay, now as for what happened," Supergirl's smile vanished at Rachel's words. "If Metallo hadn't been there, you would've done great. Other than that, you got a little overconfident, and that's okay. Experience comes with time. If you make mistakes, you'll learn from them. That's how you grow." The Halfa put a hand on Supergirl's shoulder. "I know how you feel, Kara. I used to do the same thing; I can't tell you how many times I've gotten help from somebody else because I rushed in without a plan. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that's why the Justice League exists, so that heroes could watch out for each other."

Kara smiled again as she felt her spirits raise. If Rachel could rise above her flaws, then so could she, it'll be hard, but it'll be worth it!

"Thanks, Rach."

"Of course, Kara." The Halfa smiled, glad to see Kara's feeling better. She floated off the edge of the roof. "Come on, we've only patrolled for a little bit; that still leaves the rest of Metropolis." and then she extended a hand to the Girl of Steel. "You ready?"

Supergirl looked into Rachel's eyes as she took her hand. "You bet." She smiled.

As the two girls flew in the air, Rachel turned to Supergirl. "You think Clark will be worried about us after what happened?"

Supergirl laughed. "Knowing him, he's probably been worrying since the minute we left."

The Halfa joined in the laughter as they continued to fly. What they didn't know, however, a certain superhero had been listening in on they had been doing since leaving his apartment. He had gotten out of bed and was sitting at the kitchen table, since the thoughts racing through his mind prevented him from getting any type of sleep. He only stopped listening when he heard his phone ring; his call ID showed that it was someone who _never _called.

* * *

When Rachel and Kara arrive at Clark's apartment a few hours later, they noticed Clark sitting at the table with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Kara and Rachel looked at each other for a moment, and then Kara spoke. "What's going on, Clark?"

"Hm? Hey girls," Clark answered as he looked up at the two girls, "how'd patrolling go?"

Kara's eye fell to her feet, seeing her discomfort, Rachel replied for her. "Kara did well, we ran into some android named Metallo and his gang of burglars," she looked at Kara again, "but we handled okay, right Kara?"

Kara looked at her friend, and then at her cousin. "R-right." She answered with a nod.

Clark nodded, and then spoke to Kara. "Sorry Kara, but I need to take Rachel somewhere; Batman needs her for something."

Rachel raised an eyebrow as she turned back into her human form. The Detective actually asked to see her? What could be so important?

Clark turned to Kara. "I also have some business with the League I need to take care of. Would you mind looking after Metropolis tomorrow while I'm gone?"

Kara stared aghast at her cousin. She glanced uncertainly at Rachel, who grinned and winked at her. Kara's confidence was bolstered by her support, she nodded at Clark. Then she frowned.

"Why tomorrow though? Can't you leave tonight?"

Clark shrugged." I've given up on trying to figure out Batman's methods."

Rachel chuckled. "And no one would blame you."

Both Kryptonians smirked. After a bit Clark spoke again.

"Say Rach, now that you're back in the hero game. What are you going to call yourself?"

When the Halfa looked confused, Kara elaborated. "He means your superhero name."

"Oh." Rachel replied as her mind started to race. She knew that superheroes do more than just fight evil. They are an ideal; an inspiration for others to look up to, and are the symbols of _hope_. Not unlike the Guardian program. She remembered someone telling her a long time ago.

"_Guardians exist to help those in need. In the best and worst of times, we help make the world a better place for all her inhabitants. We act as beacons_ _of hope, if you will." _

Rachel smiled as she finished thinking. "Actually, yes." Clark and Kara both shifted their position a little bit, waiting for the Halfa to continue. Rachel placed a hand on her chest. "You can call me, 'Beacon'."

After a moment of silence, Clark raised an eyebrow. "I suppose that works, though I would've associated that name with someone who is more of a light-based hero. I mean you _are _a ghost."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rachel questioned as she glared at Clark with her eyebrows furrowed. "Since I'm a ghost I can only live in the darkness? I never thought that _you'd _be one to stereotype, Clark."

Rachel crossed her arms as Clark scratched the back of his head, cheeks pink.

"Uh, well, I-"The two girls high-fived each other as they laughed at Clark's embarrassment.

Clark took a deep breath as he stood up. He then walked up to the Halfa, and extended his hand, smiling as he did so.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, _Beacon_."

Rachel looked at Clark's outstretched hand, and then happily shook it. "Nice to meet you too, Supes."

Clark chuckled, and Kara smiled warmly at the both of them.

After 'Beacon' had introduced herself. Rachel and Kara walked into Clark's room while Clark put a pillow and a blanket on the couch; he'd given his room for Rachel use for the night. Kara got ready to return to Smallville; it wouldn't take her long to get back. Although before she left, she pulled Rachel in a crushing hug.

"Thanks for the talk, Rach."

"Ow!" screamed the Halfa, "Kara!"

"Sorry!"

Kara quickly released her and flew out the open window. Even though she didn't look back, she imagined the Halfa sitting on the bed, trying to ease the pain in her flatten lungs. She laughed at the thought as she soared through the night sky.

* * *

The next morning, Rachel awoke fairly rested. Though the nightmares persisted, she hadn't woken up in the middle of the night. Maybe this was a sign that she was getting used to them, which wasn't a very delightful thought for the Halfa. At breakfast, Rachel thanked Clark for letting her use his room. The Man of Steel merely dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

"It's no trouble."

Rachel smiled at the man. "Good to see you're such a gentleman."

Clark grinned back. "I try."

After they finished eating, Rachel transformed while Superman got into his costume. The two flew in silence for a few minutes, with Rachel following behind Superman, since he was guiding them to where they needed to go.

"Where are we going, and also why are we going there?"

Superman looked over his shoulder at the ghost-girl. "Batman needs you in Miami; he said that it was important if you were going to live in this universe."

Rachel nodded in understanding. She figured it must be something important if Batman had said it. While Rachel did have more questions, she knew Superman wouldn't know the answer to them. So she decided to be patient; soon she can get answers directly from the source.

Superman spoke again. "Thank you, by the way."

"Oh? For what?"

Superman smiled. "First, for what you said about me and Lois; I guess I really needed to have that shoved into my face."

"Sure, so, are you going to tell her?"

"I don't know; it's a big step. Not a whole lot of people outside of the League know who I really am." Superman paused for a moment. "But I am giving it more thought."

"Good for you, but just keep in mind that she's gonna be pretty upset for a while. I mean you are dropping a huge bomb on her."

Superman nodded as he turned his head back to the front. The two flew in silence for a few minutes before Superman spoke again.

"I need to thank you for one other thing."

"What is it?"

"Thank for saving Kara, and for telling her what she needed to hear." There was gratitude in Superman's voice.

Rachel blinked for a second, and glared at the Man of Steel.

"Wait! You were eavesdropping? But you weren't anywhere near us!"

Superman laughed, a little embarrassed. "Yeah, and I'm sorry about that, but I don't need to be nearby to hear a conversation, and I can see through almost anything."

"No wonder you're such a good journalist," The Halfa muttered before pouting her lips. "Your powers make it a breeze."

"It does. I can't tell you how many times Lois has been mad at me for getting a story before her, which is one reason why I have reservations about telling her."

"Well, it's not like she can do a whole lot. I mean you _are _invulnerable after all."

Both of them exchanged smiles. The rest of the trip was in silence, but this time it was a comfortable one.

* * *

**Miami**

The two heroes landed at the coordinates that Batman provided, which turned out to be an alley. Superman was only there for a short time before he had to take off again, saying that Batman has asked for Rachel to come alone; plus, he had that meeting with the other members of the Justice League to go to. Once Superman left, Rachel turned back into her human form.

"_Of course_," Rachel grumbled out loud, "why _wouldn't _it be an alley?"

She stepped out of the alley and saw a black limo drive up next to her. The window rolled down far enough for the Halfa to see the face of its occupant.

"Get in." said Bruce Wayne firmly.

Rachel did as she was told, and the two rode in silence for a while, that was until Rachel could no longer take it.

"Okay. Where are we going? Why did you call me here?"

For a moment, Bruce's expression remained impassive. Then his mouth formed a small smile.

"Your new home."

"Huh?"

"You'll see."

After a few minutes of driving, the limo pulled into the driveway of nice house. From the outside, it looked like a typical two-story home. Judging from the cleanliness in yard, the house had been very well kept. Bruce and Rachel walked to the front door, where Bruce produced a key. When he opened the door, Rachel's jaw fell so low, it was threatening to dislocate from her skull. The outside of house might have looked ordinary, but the inside did not! It looked like some of the pictures she'd seen in those fancy home magazines.

Bruce gestured for the Halfa to go inside. As she walked further into the house, she took in the gigantic living room, complete with a very elegant fireplace, and the large flat-screen television hanging on the wall. Then she turned to the kitchen, she saw the marble counter tops, stainless steel appliances, the dark wooden drawers, and the island directly in the center of the kitchen. At the back of the living room, there was a glass door, through it she could see Miami Beach and the Atlantic Ocean stretch all the way out into the horizon. She turned back to the Billionaire, but it took her a moment to find her words.

"So, this is all for me." Bruce simply nodded, maintaining his small grin. "B-But how did you do this?"

"Actually, I didn't get this for you, Rachel; your parents did."

"I don't follow."

The Billionaire elaborated. "I've been spending the last few days constructing your identity in this universe; birth certificate, medical records, insurance, everything that you will need if you're going to live here, that including your parent's last will and testament."

Rachel frowned in confusion. "Wait, how'd you get all that information? I never mentioned any either of my parent's names; how could you have written up their will?"

"When you asked J'onn to read your mind, he picked up more than just memory of the past few days. Apparently you were so desperate to cling onto them, you focused on any and all information about your family, and J'onn was able to read that too."

The Halfa deepened her frown. She didn't like that the Martian had seen more of her personal information, but there was no use complaining about it if the cat was already out of the bag. "Well, I guess I couldn't help it."

Bruce shrugged. "Why do you take some time off? See what's around the city; after all, if you are going to live here, you'll need to see what you need to protect." He started for the doorway, but paused. "By the way, here's something else that you'll need."

He handed Rachel a small paper box; inside was a smartphone, a couple of plastic cards that she guessed are bank cards, and a driver's license. Rachel wondered for a second why she needed a license when she could fly, but then came to the conclusion that it was more for her human side. After looking through all the contents in the box, the Halfa looked curiously at Bruce.

"It's another gift from 'your parents'. The phone has the numbers of every Leaguer, as well as the Kents'. The bank is just a few blocks away. You might want to see just how much money you have; I don't know how much the Guardians' paid you before, but I doubt you'd have to work anytime soon."

With that, he made to shut the door, but before he did so. Rachel placed the box on the floor, and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you." She whispered.

Bruce smiled as he patted the Halfa's back lightly. After he left, Rachel stood rooted to the spot for a moment, and then cheered at the top of her lungs as she jumped in the air. The Billionaire was just about to reach his limo when he heard the shout. He allowed himself a grin before he got inside.

* * *

Rachel spent the next few hours exploring her new home, which included several bedrooms, a grand bathroom, a master bedroom, and a basement. When the Halfa went to down to the basement, she noticed there was a small room with a home gym in it. Other than that, the basement was the only thing in the house that wasn't decorated. Rachel figured Bruce had left this room blank for her to decide what she wants to do with it.

There were a couple of computers that Rachel quickly set up with the help of her holographic interface. All in all, there wasn't anything she disliked about her house. Rachel paused for a moment. _Her _house, over the years she had either lived at her parents' house, the cramped dorm rooms at the Guardian headquarters, or the apartment she shared with Robin, Jonah, and Ariella. Bottom line is; never before did she have her own place. She frowned at thought. _That's right; I'm living by myself now._

Wanting more than just sad thoughts for company, she used her new phone to call the Kent home to let them know what was happening. Even though she'd only known them for about a week, Rachel considered them as her adopted grandparents. When she'd called them, she'd also asked for Kara's phone number to let her know as well, but they told her that Kara had a bad habit of accidentally holding her phone too tightly and crushing it. This made Rachel laugh, but the Kents then said that they would tell her when she comes back.

After that, Rachel left the house and walked over to the bank; she was curious to find out just how much money her "parents" had left her. Once she did, she toppled forward and had to stop herself from face-planting on the ATM. Someone passing by had to ask her if she was okay.

As Rachel walked away, she muttered to herself. "Twenty-five million…. Where does Bruce keep that kind of money, in his sock?"

On her way home, the Halfa stopped by the supermarket and a clothing store. The cashier gave her a quizzical look when she piled a bushel of faded purple t-shirts, blue jeans, and some athletic wear onto the register.

"Just moved in, need to stock up my closest" Rachel explained. The cashier merely shrugged.

* * *

Once she'd stocked up the kitchen, and the closet. Rachel decided to head back out to explore Miami a little more. Overall, the ghost-girl loved the place; the sky was clear, the smell of sea hung in the air, and the red light from the setting sun covered everything in a red-orange hue. Rachel looked around as she explored downtown, she figured she could use the tall buildings as a vantage point whenever she'd do her patrols, she also thought that she should get a map of the place so she could effectively plan them. She stopped in her tracks when something caught her eye; an ice cream parlor. Rachel couldn't stop the large grin from spreading over her face. It seemed forever ago that she's enjoyed her favorite frozen desert.

She started to make her way to the parlor, but a police car, fire truck, and ambulance sped by, their sirens blaring. Rachel sighed; ice cream would have to wait. She ran to the nearest alley, and then turned into her ghost form.

* * *

Beacon flew above the vehicles invisible for a few blocks before realizing the issue. The building directly ahead was engulfed in flames, wanting to know more about the situation, she turned visible and landed a few feet behind a Police Officer.

"Officer, what's the current situation?" asked the ghost-girl.

The Officer turned around and looked at Beacon confused for a minute before replying. "Miss, for your own safety, please get back. Let us handle this."

Beacon was about to say something when someone ran up to the Police Officer. A man grabbed the front of the Officer's shirt, and shook him violently. "My wife and baby are still in there! You have to rescue them!"

The Officer pulled the man off of him. "Sir, please calm down. Now where are they?"

"Up there!" the man pointed at the fourth floor, where fire spewed out of the windows. The Officer looked grimly at the scene, trying desperately to figure out a way to help the distraught man. Beacon saw her opportunity and spoke up.

"Don't worry Mister," both men looked at her, "I'll go and get them." With that she turned intangible and flew into the building. Leaving the two men stunned.

The inside of the building glowed orange as the flames roared, engulfing everything in its path. Beacon phased through an apartment door and saw them, a woman was huddled in corner clutching a bundle her arms. The bundle was crying loudly as the woman rocked it back and forth. One second passed, and bits of the ceiling began to crack, and then started to fall towards the both of them. The woman screamed as she contorted herself to protect her baby. When the woman opened her eyes again, she saw that she was encased in a large blue dome. In there with her was a white-haired teenage girl.

"You okay, ma'am?" asked Beacon. The woman was so shocked; it took her almost a minute to nod in response. The younger girl gave the woman a reassuring smile and extended her hand. "Take my hand; I'll get you both out of here."

Without hesitation, the woman grabbed the girl's hand. Beacon pulled the woman up into a bridal carry as she turned intangible, and then flew through the wall. They landed back onto the ground seconds later. Beacon put the woman down as the latter's husband ran up and embraced her, tears streaming from his eyes. The Halfa smiled warmly at the family before turning back to the Police Officer from earlier.

"Is there anything else I can do to help?"

Another hour had passed before the fire was extinguished. The ghost-girl had flown inside the building with a fire hose, dousing the flames inside while the firefighter did the same for the outside. As the emergency vehicles began to leave, Beacon thought she should be departing as well. That is until someone spoke up to her.

"Wait!" she turned to see the Police Officer extend his hand, "thanks for the help."

Beacon smiled and shook his hand. "No problem."

"One question though, just… Who are you?"

The ghost-girl saw that a crowd had gathered behind him. Most of them had their phones out. Apparently, Beacon's assistance had not gone unnoticed. She looked back at the Police Officer.

"The name's Beacon," said the Halfa confidently, "and I'm here to help."

The Officer nodded as she began to fly away. Before she got too far however, she waved at him. "Have a good night!"

* * *

It was dark by the time Rachel got back to her new home. After helping with fire, she'd stopped by the ice cream parlor, and got herself some vanilla ice cream. Her taste buds had tingled slightly as she ate the frozen dairy product. As she walked towards the bathroom for a shower, she saw a closed room that she didn't notice earlier. Curious, Rachel walked up to the door, and jiggled the doorknob; the door was locked. Using her intangibility, she unlocked the door and walked inside. The room was bare, except for a rather large object being covered by a white sheet of fabric. After pulling off the sheet, the Halfa gasped slightly; underneath was an alluring black grand piano. She traced her finger along the frame; the polished wood felt smooth to her touch. The Halfa opened the lid and examined the inside, all the parts were free of dust, and was in pristine condition. Rachel walked up to the front of the piano, pulled the seat out, and then sat down.

After lifting up the cover, Rachel smiled as she studied the black and white ivory keys. She gently pressed one key down and the note hummed from the piano, filling the room with its soft sound. Placing her hands over the keyboard, she took a deep breath as she flexed her fingers. Then closing her eyes, she began to play.

The rapid rhythm that emitted for the piano filled Rachel with waves of emotions. She began to sway along with the music, her fingers moving elegantly over the keyboard. As she played her song, she thought of the events that happened in her life; her career as a Guardian, all the times she'd spent with her family and friends. Then she thought about her new life in this universe.

* * *

**Batcave**

Batman leaned back on his chair as he sat at his computer screen. The Justice League had finished their discussion about rebuilding after the Thanagarian invasion. However his work was never done, he leaned back towards his computer, and started to type furiously. After a couple of strokes, he paused; remembering the moment when Rachel had embraced him. Whenever he would look at the Halfa, Batman couldn't help but see himself in her. With that thought, the Detective pulled up a picture on the screen. It was a family portrait of Thomas and Martha Wayne, with their then-eight year old son, Bruce. Batman sighed as he leaned back on his chair again, and found comfort in knowing that Rachel was adjusting better than he once did.

* * *

**Metropolis**

Superman floated a few feet above the Daily Planet. Crossing his arms, he stared into the building with his X-ray vision, where he found Lois Lane working at her desk. Superman sighed as he flew away, thinking back to when he first met Lois all those years ago, and about his feelings for the reporter. He had always wanted to start something with her, but fear for Lois' life had stopped him from telling her the truth. Superman had always thought that he was doing the right thing keeping his secret from Lois, but now he had no idea. The Man of Steel remembered something Rachel had said to him.

"…_He'll_ _come for me. She gets herself into those situations because she knows Superman would always save her."_

What the Halfa said had been true; Lois' job as an investigate reporter had already put her in harm's way even before Superman arrived in Metropolis. Telling her that Clark Kent and Superman are really one in the same isn't going to change that much. It was at this moment that he made up his mind. As he flew, he tried to figure out how he was going to break the news to Lois, the thought of getting her angry sent chills down his spine.

* * *

**Smallville**

Kara sat on the roof of the barn at the Kent farm as she surveyed the stars in the night sky. She was able to look at them more clearly thanks to her super vision. As Kara looked at the sky, she thought about the times she'd spent with her new friend; from their first meeting to their heart to heart in Metropolis, but there was something more. Ever since she'd meet the Halfa, there were feelings stirring inside her, but the Kryptonian didn't know what to make of these feelings. Was it because she felt pity for the ghost-girl? Or was it something else? Rachel had told Kara that she had a girlfriend, so she knew the Halfa was _different_, but is she different too? Kara sighed as she gave up on trying to find the answers to her questions. She flew from the roof, and back into her room. As she got into bed, she thought about Rachel; her flowing light-emitting white and soft brown hair, her glowing bright blue and shining emerald green eyes, and her sweet, comforting words.

* * *

**Miami**

When Rachel finished playing her song, she opened her eyes to find that her vision had become slightly blurred. She also felt something warm and wet running down her cheeks; she wiped them with her hand, and realized that she'd been crying. The Halfa was so consumed in the music, that she never felt the tears fall from her eyes. It was then that Rachel decided to stop. She put the cover back onto the keyboard, and closed the lid. Then she made her way out of the room, but before she turned off the light. She looked back at the piano with a fond smile.

**A/N: I hope you all like the interactions Rachel had with the other characters so far, particularly between her and Kara. I understand the Supergirl was a little overconfident in the series, and therefore I can see Rachel sort of being a mentor to her before they got into anything more serious.**

**Now as for her superhero name. I've spent some time thinking it, and when it was all said and done, I went with "Beacon". The reason is that whenever I would think of a superhero; I'd think of them as shining examples of hope and justice. They are "Beacons" of those ideals if you catch my drift. It might seem cheesey, but it is what it is. The conversation between Superman and Rachel was actually taken from a conversation I had with someone else, and almost word for word.**

**Finally, the piano scene at the end, the song Rachel played is the piano cover of **_**Numb **_**by Linkin Park. What happened was, I was Youtube-surfing one day and I stumbled onto a video of someone playing that song. After listening to it several times, I decided to incorporate that into Beacon of Justice. You can also imagine the song playing over the scenes with Batman, Superman, and Supergirl before turning back Rachel. **

**With that, another chapter of this story is done. I hope you all have been enjoying the ride. I, for one, had definitely enjoyed the experience of writing it. Stay tuned, the next chapter is "Initiation". Until then, I will see you all next time. Stay frosty!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Justice League is owned by DC comics…**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 5

**Smallville, Kansas**

The boom of the marching band's instruments filled the football field as Rachel stood on the bleachers alongside Martha, Jonathan, and Clark Kent, watching the graduating class of Smallville High School. They cheered loudly as one very special person walked up to the podium. It was with a grin of pride that Kara Kent accepted her High School diploma. After the graduating class tossed their caps into the air, signaling the end of the ceremony, Kara rushed over to her family and friend.

"Rach, thanks for coming; it means a lot that you're here."

Rachel smiled at her. "Are you kidding? I wouldn't've missed this for the world."

Kara had been pleasantly surprised to find the Halfa attending her graduation. She couldn't detect her even with her superhuman senses. Nevertheless, she was happy that Rachel came.

After receiving hugs from all four of her personal audience, the Kent family and their friend returned to the farm, most of Kara's graduating class was planning to attend a party that night, but Kara had a much bigger event to attend. Clark and Kara went upstairs to change into the costumes, while Rachel's blue rings transformed her into her ghost form. Superman and Supergirl came down the stairs a few seconds later. Kara put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at Beacon.

"You know, I'll never stop being jealous at how fast you can get into costume."

The ghost-girl grinned at her friend, and shrugged. Martha Kent approached Superman. "Now, Clark, you take care of those two girls, all right?"

Clark smiled at his mother. "Don't worry, Ma, they're gonna do just fine."

Martha smiled back, and then rejoined her husband at the table.

"You kids have fun!" Jonathan waved at them. The trio nodded, and then Superman pressed a finger to the communicator in his ear.

"We're ready."

A white light surrounded the three heroes, becoming more intense by the second. When it became too bright to look at, the light vanished. When the light disappeared, so did the three heroes.

* * *

**Four Months Ago: Miami**

_Rachel leaned back on the sofa as she watched the news on her TV. She had just got back from her daily patrol of the city. Since she moved to Miami, the Halfa had created a daily routine to make better use of her time. Every day, early in the morning, she'd go for a run for several miles, come back home to work out in her home gym, and then have a hearty breakfast after her shower. Afterwards, she would conduct her patrol of the city. After ending it at around noon, Rachel would have lunch, and then go have ice cream at the parlor that she'd discovered. Then she would return home and go into her relaxation period, where she does whatever she wants, such as watching TV, reading a book, or going out into town. However, every day at four o'clock, the Halfa would stop whatever she was doing, and go play on the piano for a couple of hours. This was Rachel's favorite part of the day; it was a time where she could forget everything and just enjoy the moment. After playing her music, she would have dinner, and then head back out to patrol Miami again._

_Rachel hadn't been that busy over the past few weeks. After a few days of patrolling the city, Rachel realized that, aside from the occasional accident, fire or robbery, Miami didn't have much in terms of super villains. In fact, the city was pretty quiet, or at least it is by superhero standards. Miami was by no means a quiet city._

_Still, Rachel had become quite the popular hero; or at least, Beacon had become popular. She wasn't supposed to reveal her secret identity after all._

_She glanced over to the front door when she heard a knock on it. Rachel got up as she turned off the TV, curious about who it might be; aside from members of the Justice League visiting her every once in a while, she didn't really have visitors._

_She opened the door to see Clark Kent and Diana in their civilian clothes, and with serious looks on their faces._

"_Hey Clark, Diana," said Rachel as she nodded to the two of them. "What's going on?"_

"_Rachel," replied Clark with a straight face, "there's something we need to discuss with you."_

"_Uh, sure." Rachel felt slightly nervous as she let Clark and Diana into her home; both of them seemed very serious, almost grim. Had she done something wrong? Had she broken some law, or disobeyed some rule that superheroes had to follow? Thoughts like these plagued her mind as she opened the fridge. "Can I get you two anything?"_

"_No, that's alright." Clark replied firmly. Rachel nodded as she closed the fridge, and then gestured for the two heroes to sit with her at the table, which they did._

"_So, what's up?" asked the Halfa curiously._

"_There's something we need to ask you, Rachel." Diana glanced over briefly at Clark, who nodded at her. "Do you remember what happened the day after we defeated the Thanagarians?"_

_Rachel's cheeks flushed pink as her eyes fell to the table. "Well, I remember telling you about my world and my life, and then I-I burst into tears in the middle of it."_

_Diana smiled as she placed a hand on the Halfa's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. It was perfectly understandable, given what you went through. Actually, we had been planning to off you a membership in the Justice League."_

_Rachel's eyes widened. Was that true? Were they really going to offer her a League membership? Thinking back, she realized that immediately accepting their offer would have been a bad idea; she was devastated before ending up in a completely different universe, and needed time to grieve, which had led to her staying at the Kent home for a week._

_Clark took over for Diana. "I know that it still hasn't been that long for you, Rach, but we're here to extend the offer again: will you join the Justice League?"_

_Now it was Rachel's turn to look serious. "Yes, absolutely." Clark and Diana were slightly taken aback by the Halfa's lack of hesitation._

"_Are you sure that you don't want to think about it?"_

_Rachel smiled at the two of them. "My life in the Guardian program has made me feel like I've been part of something greater. Joining the Justice League will give me a chance for me to feel that way again, to do more to help people; how can I refuse an offer like that?"_

_Thanks to her empathic abilities, Diana could sense the resolve in Rachel's spirit, just as she could sense the pride in Clark's. She sensed the same pride for the Halfa; she had suffered a great deal, but she still had the determination to fight on. Any Amazon would have been proud to fight alongside this young woman._

"_So," said Rachel, her eyes beaming, "when do we start? 'Cause I gotta tell you, supervillains are not exactly 'a dime a dozen' here in Miami."_

_Clark chuckled at his young friend's enthusiasm. "Not yet, Rach; we've actually invited you pretty early, as sort of a thank-you for helping us during the invasion. In about another couple of months, we'll be sending out invitations to other heroes around the world; then, we'll bring them all up to the Watchtower."_

_Rachel blinked in confusion; she remembered watching the giant space station crash into the Thanagarian hyperspace bypass. "Wait, so there's a new Watchtower?"_

"_That's right, it'll be better that ever, and can be a permanent home for any full-time heroes."_

_Rachel smiled. "Sweet, so, who else are you inviting? How many other heroes are there?"_

_Clark shrugged. "Batman is still looking over his files on them to see which ones are qualified, but I can tell you that there'll be a lot."_

_Diana interrupted the Man of Steel. "And _I_ can tell you that you were the first on the list of candidates."_

_Rachel beamed at the both of them. Before, all she could think about was everything that she'd lost. Now however, she was going to get a chance to be part of something bigger again. The Halfa made sure she gave both Clark and Diana a hug before they left._

* * *

**The Watchtower**

The light from the teleporter faded, and Beacon, Supergirl, and Superman stepped out to see a massive room. It was so massive; it looked like it could easily fit at least a few hundred people!

"Whoaaaa." The Halfa and Girl of Steel exclaimed as they looked around with their eyes wide, it was safe to say that both girls were impressed with what they saw. Superman grinned at them with pride, and then waved over the rest of the founding members of the Justice League.

"Glad to have you with us." Green Lantern looked at Beacon, but then noticed Supergirl glaring at him for only addressing the Halfa, so he hurriedly added, "Both of you." The Lantern looked different than the last time Beacon had seen him: his head was now shaved, and he now spotted a mustache and beard.

"Yeah," The Flash said cheerfully as he ran up to them, "welcome aboard, you two." Both girls smiled at the speedster, and nodded.

"All right, now all of you step off the teleporter; I've gotta go get some more recruits." Green Lantern cut it.

The League members, both new and old, walked down the stairs as the light flashed from the teleporter again, sending the Lantern back to Earth. After watching disappear, Beacon asked the question that had been burning in her mind.

"Okay, can someone _please_ tell me where Batman gets the money for this kind of stuff?"

Her fellow Leaguers chuckled at her question. "He probably keeps it in a piggy-bank in the Batcave." Flash suggested.

"Shouldn't it been a _bat _though, not a pig?" replied the Beacon, and then the group enjoyed another small laugh. Afterwards, Beacon chit-chatted with Flash and Wonder Woman, while Supergirl walked alongside her cousin. As they passed by a window, the Girl of Steel stopped and stared at the amazing view of the planet below. Seeing her adopted homeworld reminded her how much of an honor it was to be a member of the Justice League, and the responsibility it was tasked with.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" Supergirl turned to see Beacon standing next to her, watching the Earth below. "You know, I've only seen the Earth from space only a handful of times, and even though it's not the same Earth, it takes my breath away every single time. Well, so to speak."

Supergirl nodded, remembering the Halfa telling her that while in her ghost form, Beacon can survive without oxygen.

"Reminds me of what we have to fight for."

Beacon smiled at her friend. "Then we should get to know the people we'll be fighting alongside with; come on, I think more people are showing up."

Supergirl followed her gaze, and sure enough, the teleporter began to glow again; more new Leaguers were coming in.

"What are we waiting for?" asked Supergirl excitedly, "let's go meet the team."

* * *

A couple of hours passed, and both Rachel and Supergirl had separated from each other, talking to the rising number of heroes. Of the new member she had met, she found a few that she liked almost immediately liked. The first one she'd met was Steel, a tall man encased in a grey metal suit, and wielded a giant hammer; apparently he'd created his super-powered suit as a tribute to Superman, which seemed honorable in Beacon's eyes. The next heroes she'd met were named Vigilante and Shining Knight. They both dressed like a cowboy and medieval knight respectively, and even the way they spoke sounded like language of the Old West and middle Ages. However Beacon thought that they both seemed competent, even though they were kind of goofy. Beacon also noticed that she and Supergirl wasn't the only young members of the League, there was also Stargirl, a blond teenage girl, wearing a red, white, and blue outfit, and carrying a staff. She was sitting on the shoulders of man in a giant battle suit. Stargirl had introduce him as S.T.R.I.P.E, and reluctantly added that he was her stepfather. Lastly, Beacon met Zatanna; Beacon found it slightly difficult to talk to her. One of the reasons was that Zatanna's magician outfit made her look very attractive, but she was also smart, kind, had a sharp wit, and excelled at magic. Beacon couldn't help but be reminded of…

Her train of thought, as well as all other conversation was cut off when Superman called for everyone's attention. He was standing on a higher level of the room, alongside Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern. After everyone was quiet, the Man of Steel began to speak. Even though Beacon was standing towards the back of the crowd, she had no trouble hearing Superman's booming voice.

"Each of you brings something different to the table; Strength, speed, stealth, whatever."

Beacon rested her hands on her hips, eyeing the Man of Steel intently as he continued his speech.

"But we're all equal in at least one way. Each of us is willing to make the sacrifices a hero needs to make." He seemed to stare right into the Halfa's eyes as he said to the next words. "Even the ultimate one."

The ghost-girl's posture slackened a little as she moved her eyes away from Superman for a second. She didn't want to think any more about what he'd just said.

"Since there are so many of us, we can do more than just put out fires, both literal and figurative. We can be proactive; we can do some real good in the world, but we're going to have to be organized." Superman pointed upwards, and Beacon as well as several other heroes looked up to see Martian Manhunter at the control panel, smiling and waving to the crowd. "J'onn will be up here, keeping an eye on everything; he'll be the one to decide who's going where and when. I know a lot of you are used to making those decisions by yourself, but from now on, we have to be more coordinated than that. We can't be cowboys anymore." Superman paused for a minute, and the grinned. "Or cowgirls."

Several heroes, including Beacon laughed at his last words. Then out of corner of her eye, the Halfa saw Batman approach a man wear a green outfit with a bow and quiver on his back. Beacon tuned everything else out as she heard the Detective speak.

"We sent the Lantern for because you never gave us an answer."

The blonde archer frowned. "Come on, I don't belong up here, fighting monsters and aliens and supervillians. I just help the little guy, and in a big club like this? You tend to forget all about him."

Beacon frowned, not sure if she liked the archer's attitude. They were all heroes here, they all shared a common purpose; which is to save people, and it shouldn't matter if it was from a fire, or a giant monster, so long as they were saved.

The green archer continued. "So gee whiz, I'm flattered to be asked and all, but no thanks."

The Dark Knight narrowed his eyes at the other man, but then he turned and walked away, saying "Suit yourself." He stopped in his tracks, and then looked over his shoulder at the archer. "Those monsters you don't fight? They tend to step on little guys."

Beacon smirked. _Well said, Bats, _she thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, J'onn had brought Green Lantern's attention to one of the computer screens. "It's some sort of nuclear accident. The sensors are showing a massive release of heat."

Green Lantern nodded. "I'll get down there and try to contain it."

Lantern started to walk away, but J'onn stopped him. "That's the odd thing; it's not dissipating. It's moving in a straight line." He looked down at the computer, which is currently showing digital roster of the League members. Take Captain Atom, he might be to absorb some of the radiation."

"Right," replied Green Lantern, "and I'll need some muscle for crowd control."

"Take Supergirl." Lantern glowered at the J'onn's suggestion, the latter cocked an eyebrow. "She's got to start sometime."

Lantern sighed. "Fine, but if I'm going with two new members, I'm taking someone with more experience, too."

"Who did you have in mind?"

Green Lantern looked down at the lower level, where the new members of the League had resumed their social hour. He surveyed the crowd for a minute until he found who he was looking for. Turning back to the Martian, he said.

"Rachel, she's the best suited to respond if anything were to happen."

"Very well," J'onn complied as Lantern flew up into the air. "Take a javelin; the radiation's making it impossible for the transporter to get a fix on the location."

"Captain Atom!" Green Lantern called out, "Kara! Beacon!"

"About time." Supergirl exclaimed as she flew towards Lantern's position with an overconfident smile.

The Halfa took a deep breath. _This is it, _she thought. The two girls joined Green Lantern, along with a muscular man in a silver bodysuit with red boots, gloves, and a symbol of the atom on his chest. He greeted them with a firm nod.

As the group approached the Javelin bay, Lantern asked the others. "Any of you ever been to Chong Mai?"

"It's on the State Department's 'no travel' list." Captain Atom replied, "It's a Class three felony for American citizens to go there." Beacon looked at the Captain curiously, wondering why it was a crime to travel to that country.

"Is it anywhere near Daytona Beach?" asked Supergirl. Green Lantern groaned as the Halfa raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"Kara, it's a country wedged between China and North Korea; that's nowhere _near_ Daytona Beach."

The Girl of Steel eyed the Halfa suspiciously. "How would you know? You're not even from this universe." Captain Atom looked curiously between the two girls.

"I studied in my spare time." Beacon shrugged.

"Nerd." Supergirl muttered with narrowed eyes. Beacon lightly elbowed Supergirl in the ribs.

* * *

As the heroes walked to the elevator, Beacon was able to get a good look at the Javelin bay. She had never seen the League's original Javelin-7 ship. However, from she had heard from the civilian crew that worked on the Watchtower's daily functions; the new Javelins were faster, more durable, and better armed. As they approached their Javelin, Beacon noticed someone approaching them, turning her head, the ghost-girl saw the green archer from earlier running up to them. She figured he must've taken a separate elevator.

"You're not going to leave me here on Mount Olympus?"

"You can go back the way you came." Green Lantern said, without looking at the archer.

"Uh-uh, I don't think so. No one's playing pinball with my molecules again." Beacon didn't know if the he was trying to funny or annoying, or maybe it's a mixture of the two.

"All right, we'll drop you off _after _we're done." Lantern replied with an eye-roll.

As the team boarded the Javelin, Beacon noticed the archer's hesitation. "Don't worry," she told him, "it's perfectly safe." The archer looked at the Halfa, and then slowly walked up the ramp. As they did so, she extended a hand, "Name's Beacon, and you are…?"

"Green Arrow." He answered as he shook it.

"Ah, that makes sense."

Green Arrow raised an eyebrow. "Does it?" Beacon only shrugged.

* * *

As they took their seats, Green Lantern sat in the pilot's seat, prepping the Javelin for launch, and then Supergirl walked up behind him.

"So, you're gonna let me drive, right?"

"Whoa, wait a minute." Captain Atom held up his hands and had a worried look on his suit-covered face. "Has she been certified in a Javelin?"

Supergirl sat down and glared at him. "Why don't you take the stick out, Corporal?"

"It's _Captain_." He replied firmly, Supergirl stuck her tongue out at him; Green Arrow chuckled slightly while Beacon grinned and gave Supergirl the "okay" sign.

As the Javelin took off from the launch bay, the Halfa looked back at the Watchtower. The structure was gigantic; it could easily hold hundreds of people. It resembled a massive white and gold pillar, with an incomplete ring piercing the top. Simply put; it was a marvel of engineering.

As the Javelin entered the Earth's atmosphere, Green Arrow leaned towards Captain Atom. "Is that a containment suit?"

"Uh-huh. I'm not flesh and blood anymore; just living energy."

Green Arrow leaned back with a frown on his face. "That wouldn't be _nuclear_ energy, would it?"

Captain Atom narrowed his eyes at the archer. "With a name like 'Captain Atom', what do you think?"

Green Arrow leaned back into his seat, arms crossed. "I think you're what I marched against back in college."

Beacon rolled her eyes. _Greeeaattt, _really_ looking forward to working with him, _she thought bitterly.

* * *

**Chong Mai Countryside**

The rest of the trip was silent, but thankfully short. The Javelin landed in a forest clearing. Green Lantern, Supergirl, Captain Atom, Beacon strode out, but stopped when they saw several miles of scorched terrain. Charred stumps of what used to be trees and the smoldering remains of buildings were all that remained.

"Look like we missed the party." Supergirl remarked.

"What could've done this?" Beacon asked.

"We'll need to recon the area," said Green Lantern, taking charge of the situation, "if you see anything, don't try to engage."

Captain Atom stood in the position of attention. "Roger that."

The others stared at him, taken aback. "Uh," said Green Lantern, "You can just say okay."

"…Okay." The Captain replied as he walked off. Supergirl mocked a salute and then sighed, and then the heroes followed. Before they got too far however, Beacon widened her eyes as she jerked her heads towards the dozen armed men standing about hundred feet away, several of whom were aiming RPG's at….

"Look out!"

The other three heroes heard the Halfa shout and instinctively sought cover. Green Lantern used his ring to bring up a large shield, just in time to stop a rocket. Bullets and more rockets soon followed. Luckily though, the weapons weren't having any effects on the shield.

"State Department sure was right about them not liking foreigners." Captain Atom said bluntly.

"It's crazy!" Green Lantern yelled, "No reason for it!"

"I'll give'em a reason!" Supergirl exclaimed as she prepared to take flight when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Kara, wait!" said Beacon, "we don't want to make things _worse_."

"She's right," Lantern agreed, "we came here to help them, not to fight."

Green Arrow ran up to them. "So you're just gonna stand there until they run out of RPGs? If this radiation thing is as bad as it looks, there's a lot of people out there are gonna get fried."

Beacon looked at the Archer, and then narrowed her eyes at the armed men. "He's got a point, I'll handle this." With that said, the Halfa vanished from sight.

"What the-?" Green Arrow's words trailed as the rockets and bullets stopped firing. The heroes turned to see that the soldiers looking confused, staring at their empty hands. Then they all looked up to see the ghost-girl floating above them, her arms crossed. Floating next to her were their weapons, incased a large bubble of swirling energy.

"You know, that wasn't very nice," Beacon spoke to the soldiers, "All we're trying to do is-"The Halfa didn't finish as she turned her head, focusing on something they couldn't see.

A few seconds later, there was a sound of helicopter blades. Beacon rejoined her team, where she dropped the soldier's weapons near their feet. Then the five heroes got into fighting stances as the helicopter landed and the doors opened, but they relaxed when they saw that the soldiers accompanying an aging general did not appear hostile.

"My apologies for the fireworks," said the general in a smooth voice, _too _smooth, "Colonel Kim her was just a farmer before the revolution; he doesn't know who you are." He smiled at them, but it didn't convince Beacon even in the slightest. "I am General Kwan. I am most flattered that the Justice League has honored us with its presence, but I must ask why."

Green Lantern stepped forward. "You had some kind of nuclear accident."

The general smiled as he dismissed this with a wave of his hand. "A minor problem, it is fully under control."

"If it's all the same to you…" began Lantern.

"_It _is fully under control." The General's smile was now gone, and he glared at the heroes dangerously. "If it's all the same to you."

"Listen," growl Supergirl, "we came a long way to help…"

"Your help is not needed here," the General interrupted, "Thank you for coming, now goodbye." He tipped his hat at the heroes, and then strode off, his soldiers following him.

After Kwan and his soldiers were gone, Beacon crossed her arms, and spoke. "_Rriigghhtt, _because I would totally consider those smoldering ruins we saw as a _minor _problem."

* * *

The sun was setting as the heroes went back into the Javelin. Green Arrow was fuming in the back; Supergirl was doing her best not to break anything, and Beacon was standing with her arms crossed, staring out the window, while Captain Atom was sitting in a chair, awaiting further orders. Green Lantern was speaking to J'onn on the communication screen.

"I'm telling you, J'onn, it took all the restraint I had not to part that guy's hair with my ring."

"You did the right thing." J'onn's face grew more serious, if that were even possible, "but the problem is not under control; it's getting worse."

_Yep, knew it_, thought Beacon as she watched the sun set past the horizon.

"Don't you get it?" Lantern turned to see Green Arrow walking up to him. "They don't want anyone to find out about the accident; and they don't care how many of their own people they have to lose to keep it quiet!"

"This isn't your concern!" Lantern glared at Arrow. The archer clenched his teeth, and then stormed off. John turned back to the Manhunter. "He does have a point. Maybe the four of us should go back and…"

"No! We can't just do whatever we want; when we formed the League, we agreed with the world's governments that we'd have to respect each government's wishes." J'onn sighed. "No matter what we may think of their policies."

John opened his mouth to speak, when Supergirl interrupted him. "Lantern! Green Arrow's gone!"

"And so is the Geiger counter." Captain Atom added.

Beacon pinched the bridge of her nose, and then said firmly. "C'mon, let's go after him before he starts an international incident."

* * *

The search took quite some time, but thanks to Supergirl's advanced senses, they located Green Arrow. What took them by surprise though was seeing the archer shooting explosive arrows at the source of the radiation, which turned out to be a several-hundred-foot-tall robot. It had giant cannons for arms, a metal skull that was wreathed in fire, and its body was painted a shade of blood red. The enormous automaton was about to vaporize Green Arrow, but Lantern was just able to save him by scooping him up.

"Looks like I just can't help horning in." said Green Lantern as he continued to avoid the robot's attacks.

"There's some people up the cliff!" Arrow pointed to where some civilians and soldiers were corner at a cliff. The only thing standing between them and the opposite hillside was a giant canyon.

"I'll work on getting those people across," Beacon volunteered, and then looked at the others as she pointed at the robot, "but some has to stop that thing from getting any closer."

"I'm on it!" Captain Atom flew off, with Supergirl trailing right behind him.

Beacon floated down right at the edge of the cliff. Then narrowing her eyes in concentration, she held her arms out. As her hands began to glow, a wide platform formed from one end of cliff to the other. The Halfa turned to the man closet to her. "Hurry! Get across!"

The man she was addressing reluctantly placed a foot on the bridge, when it supported his weight; he smiled and waved for the others to follow him. Green Lantern and Arrow stayed nearby, in case the robot was able to get past Supergirl and Captain Atom. As the machine tried to bat the two heroes out of the air, Captain Atom was pulling the fiery energy out of it. The robot attempted swing at him, but with more energy being drained than generated, Captain Atom was able to dodge it without much effort. Unfortunately, the nuclear hero seemed to have reached his limit, because a small explosion erupted from his hands, sending him crashing to the ground.

Supergirl flew down to check on the unconscious Captain, and the charged the robot. However, the metal monster was able to withstand her attacks; it smacked the Girl of Steel into a hill. She shook her head to clear it, but instead of attacking the robot again, she flew back to where people were still running across the makeshift bridge the Beacon had created, and lifted a truck full of soldiers to the other side. Sweat was beginning to form on Beacon's brow as she strained to maintain her energy construct.

In a few colossal steps, the robot was upon them. Beacon looked in shock as the robot pointed one of its cannons straight at her and fired. The Halfa realized that she was stuck; she couldn't risk moving because maintaining her bridge required complete focus. Green Lantern created a shield to block the energy beam, and for a moment, it held. Unfortunately, the shield began to crack, and then came the explosion, just as the last person made it to safety. Even though the explosion only grazed him, it was more than enough to leave Green Lantern unconscious and covered in radiation burns.

"John!" screamed Beacon as she knelt down beside the injured man. Green Arrow looked disbelievingly at Lantern's wounds, and his torn costume. The archer gritted his teeth as he aimed an arrow at the robot. The Halfa activated her holographic interface, and scanned up and down John's body. _Vitals are stable, _she read the text silently, _no broken bones, but I gotta get these burns treated. _Beacon deactivated the interface as she looked at the archer. "We need to get him back to the Javelin!" Green Arrow glared at the giant robot as it walked away, and then slowly lowered his bow.

Supergirl and Captain Atom had rejoined them, the Girl of Steel gasped as she knelt down next to Beacon. "He'll be okay," Supergirl looked at her friend, "We just need to get his wounds treated." The Halfa scooped Lantern up. "Come on." With that, she took to the sky. Captain Atom and Supergirl quickly followed, with the latter carrying Green Arrow.

* * *

The steady beeping sound coming from the heart monitor could be heard as the Javelin's medical systems worked to stabilize the wounded Green Lantern lying on the stretcher. After spending s couple of minutes watching the unconscious man, Captain Atom rounded on Green Arrow.

"This wouldn't have happened if you'd acted like you were part of a team!"

"But I'm not, remember?" The archer retaliated, and then he jerked his body around until he was face-to-face with the Captain. "So, back off, Nuke-boy!"

"Hey!" Supergirl shouted as she stepped in between the two men, and separated them with her arms. "We've got a giant out-of-control robot out there, but if you guys are too busy playing alpha-male smackdown. I guess I'll have to deal with it my-"

"Enough!"

The three heroes turned to see Beacon with her arms crossed, glaring at all of them.

"Supergirl's right; we need to stop the thing before it does any more damage." The Girl of Steel smirked at the two men, "_But," _Supergirl's face fell, "we need to do it as a team."

Captain Atom, Green Arrow, and Supergirl exchanged looks with one another, and then they all nodded at the Halfa.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Captain Atom.

Beacon rubbed her chin. "We know that we take it down conventionally; so we'll need to gather more Intel on it. If we can talk to the people who built that thing, then maybe we might be able to find its weakness."

"I saw some hazmat guys down in the village earlier." Green Arrow remembered. "They should know something."

"Thought _you _weren't on the team." growled Captain Atom, causing the archer to glare at him again.

"Stop it!" interjected Beacon before another fight broke out, "we could use all the help we can get."

The two men stared at the ghost-girl for a moment, and then Captain Atom spoke again. "Okay, but I'm gonna be too busy to cover your sorry-"

"Wouldn't ask you to." interrupted Green Arrow.

Beacon sighed as shook her head. She could only hope the two would cooperate long enough for the mission to succeed.

* * *

The soldiers kept watch over the men in hazmat suits as they checked the smoking ruins of the village with Geiger counters. As they did so, they muttered to each other in worried tones. They all took a step back when they saw Supergirl, Beacon, Green Arrow, and Captain Atom approach them.

"What're we up against?" Captain Atom asked a hazmat-wearing man.

"He asked you a question!" Supergirl said when he didn't answer.

Before the man could say anything, a soldier barked, "Don't answer them! That's classified inform-ah!" He was interrupted when Supergirl lifted him off the ground by the front of his body armor.

"I've just about had it with you guys!" She glared at the soldier. "You've got 'till the count of five. One… _Four._" Her eyes began to glow red as she charged her heat vision. The soldier's uniform began to smoke.

"I'd speak up if I were you." suggested Captain Atom.

"And for your sake," Beacon added grimly, "sooner rather than later."

"It was supposed to be our protector." Supergirl turned, and saw the hazmat-wearing man sit down and pull off his helmet. Revealing radiation burns on his face. "It was supposed to protect us from the foreigners." Seeing as they were finally getting some answers, Supergirl released her grip on the soldier, who ran away in fear.

"But then you lost control of it, is that what happened?" Green Arrow theorized as he knelt in front of the burned man.

The man nodded, and then looked in the direction of several other men in hazmat suits. One of them pulled a gray rod out of a crate. "We have carbon rod dampeners. But we couldn't get close enough to put them in."

Captain Atom looked down at the man. "Where's its reactor?"

"The front of the upper torso, but it's too hot; you won't make it."

"I'll worry about that."

Beacon narrowed her eyes as she rubbed her thoughtfully. "Alright, guys," the other heroes turned to her. "I think I have a plan."

* * *

The heroes flew in the direction of the robot, Green Arrow being carried by Supergirl. They landed far enough away that the rampaging machine couldn't see them. Beacon activated her interface again and scanned the robot for a couple of seconds. Sure enough, there was an entry slot directly under the robot's chin.

"So," said Green Arrow, "What's your plan, young lady?"

Beacon's interface vanished as she turned to the other heroes. "Okay, we'll come at it from both sides; I'll get behind it and hold it off for as long as I can. While I'm doing that, Supergirl, you stick with the Captain, and do whatever he needs you to do."

"Got it." Supergirl acknowledged with a cocky smile. She was confident that their plan would work.

The Halfa turned to Green Arrow. "Arrow, take a couple of the dampeners from Captain Atom; if anything goes wrong, you're our backup. If you have a shot, take it."

Green Arrow nodded as he accepted a couple of the carbon rods from Captain Atom; it seemed like a good plan, except…

"Are you sure about this?" the archer asked the Captain, "If you get too close, the heat could fry you."

"I know." was all that the Captain said. As three heroes prepared to move out, Green Arrow called out.

"Captain!" Captain Atom turned to see the archer holding out his hand. He stared at it for a moment, and then shook it.

Beacon smirked a little and shook her head slightly. Now_ they choose to get along, _she thought. "Alright, let's go!" with that she vanished from sight.

* * *

Captain Atom and Supergirl flew towards the robot, the carbon rods tucked under Captain Atom's arm.

"Try to distract it!" he called out, "It'll give Beacon more time to get into position!"

"Roger that!" Supergirl replied. Captain Atom raised an eyebrow, realizing that she was repeating his previous words. Supergirl, in turn, winked at him and flew ahead. She moved in front of the robot's line of sight.

"Hey! Butane-breath!" The robot fired one of its cannons at her, which she dodged. Then a blast of blue energy hit the robot directly in the back, causing it to whirl around, but there was nothing there. Another energy blast hit his back, and again the machine spun around to from its attacker, only to have Supergirl sending a barrage of punches to its chest. The robot fired one of its cannons at the Girl of Steel for a second time, and again, Supergirl was able to dodge the beam. Captain Atom flew at monster's reactor, but as he did so; the heat was so intense the air around the Captain's body began to ignite. He fought through the pain, until he was right in front of the reactor; he raised a carbon rod. Then suddenly, the robot looked down, and shot a pair of energy blast from its eyes; the blast sent Captain Atom crashing to the ground. The robot then aimed one of its cannons at the downed Leaguer as another blast of blue energy hit the side of its body. This time, however its focus was on the Captain, so it didn't turn to look for whatever shot it. The robot fired its beam directly at Captain Atom, leaving him at the bottom of the crater.

Beacon, now visible, flew down and scooped Captain Atom out of the crater. "Captain, you okay? I-"She stopped mid-sentence when she took a closer look at him. "There's a rip in you suit!"

Captain Atom looked in fear at the rip across his torso; he knew what would happen next. He shot into the air, ignoring the Halfa's shout as he tried to put as much distance as he can between himself and his teammates. He was able to reach the lower atmosphere… before he exploded. An enormous ball of blue energy lit up the sky, while Supergirl, Green Arrow, and Beacon looked on in horror.

In a rage, Supergirl charged at the robot, not caring if her attacks had been ineffective the last time she'd fought the metal monster. In response, the robot slammed its arm into her, knocking the Kryptonian into a nearby hill.

Green Arrow gritted his teeth, and then looked at the carbon rod in his hands. _This thing's never gonna fly straight, _he thought. Thinking quickly, he snapped it in half. Taking one half, he then cut off a vine from a nearby tree, and wrapped the rod around one of his arrows. He looked up just in time to see a very large cannon pointed in his direction. On instinct, he began to run as fast as he could…

Beacon saw the robot fire its cannon at the archer, and then the massive explosion that lit up the area. Her eyes widened. In the span of just a few minutes, her entire team was incapacitated. For a moment, she was back in her own universe, back in that field; she saw the rubble, the lightning, and the puddles of liquid. She stared at the robot, but she only saw, saw….

"_**NO!**_"

Beacon sped towards the robot; she cocked her fist back as it glowed with energy. She punched the robot directly in the chest, a shockwave rippled from the attack as the robot stumbled backwards. The Halfa punched the machine two more times before blasting it with energy blasts from both of her hands; driving the thing to its knees.

"Kid, move!"

Beacon turned at the sound, and seems to have seen a ghost. On top of a tall rock, stood Green Arrow! His costume was torn and his hat was missing, but other than that, he didn't look like he'd suffered any serious injury. Beacon flew aside as she wondered how he'd been able to survive the blast. The archer drew his bowstring and aimed his carbon-rod tipped arrow.

"Say 'ah', dirtbag." Green Arrow let his arrow fly. The arrow's trajectory was right on the money; flying directly into the reactor. The robot let out a final roar as its fire was extinguished, rendering the once terrifying monster motionless.

With a roar of their own, Beacon and Supergirl flew up to the machine. The Kryptontian delivered a powerful uppercut, while the Halfa kicked the robot's chest as hard as she could. The robot's head was sent flying as its body toppled over, landing with a gigantic thud. Both girls looked down at Green Arrow, who fell to his knees and gave an exhausted wave. Mission accomplished.

The three Leaguers made their way to the Javelin. After letting a now-conscious Green Lantern know about what happened, Beacon flew the Javelin back to the Watchtower with the help of her interface

* * *

Once onboard the Justice League headquarters, both Greens were taken away to receive medical treatment. Beacon walked over the window, and leaned on the railing, Supergirl next to her.

"You okay?" asked Supergirl concerned.

Beacon was silent for a moment. "No, Kara, I'm not." She admitted bluntly. "It's never to lose people; not even people you've just met. And… it was my plan! He's gone because of _me_!"

The Halfa tightened her grip on the railing. Kara noticed the shine in her eyes, and wondered if it was caused by tears.

"Rachel…" said Kara as she pulled Rachel in for a hug. "… Don't think that way. It wasn't your fault, you didn't know."

The Halfa prepared herself for another one of Kara's bone-crushing hugs, but it never came. Instead, it was exceedingly gentle; it wasn't a hug of uncontrollable enthusiasm, but one of comfort; like the one she gave her that night in Smallville. Rachel gently returned the embrace.

* * *

For a while, both girls just stood there in each other's arms. However, they broke apart when Green Lantern gave a light cough. The two girls looked over to see Lantern battered and in a hoverchair, but his condition had definitely improved.

"Come with me," he said, "there's someone who probably wants to see you."

Supergirl and Beacon looked at each other curiously, but obediently followed nevertheless. They traveled to the science wing of the Watchtower, where any technological or chemical needs were met for any Leaguer that required it. Once there, they looked through a window to see several men in radiation suits and a large machine that was pumping blue energy into a suit; it looked very familiar suit…

"C-Captain Atom?" asked Beacon, not daring to hope.

Green Lantern nodded. "J'onn had a team pick him up right after it happened, so he didn't lose much of his energy."

The Halfa smiled and breathed a huge sigh of relief; the Captain was okay. She hadn't lost anyone else. She hadn't failed again. She noticed the half-filled containment suit lift an arm and give a weak thumbs-up, which she and Supergirl returned.

"At least he got a new suit out of it." said Supergirl.

"Yeah," Beacon agreed, "hopefully that new one is more tear-proof." Both girls chuckled a lot.

"All right, Rach, you've had a long first day," stated Green Lantern, "why don't you head home and get some rest. We'll bring you back up tomorrow."

Beacon nodded. "Okay, sure; I'll see you both tomorrow. Good night."

"Night, Rach!" Supergirl called out.

She turned to Green Lantern with a smirk. "So, aren't you gonna give me the 'you did good' speech?"

Green Lantern glared at the Girl of Steel, and he spoke with no emotion. "You're headstrong, unprofessional, and reckless. If Rachel hadn't come along, who knows what would've happened? You could've started an international incident; you could have gotten someone killed. If you ever act like that on a mission again, I will personally see to it that you are kicked out of the League. I don't care who you cousin is." He turned his chair and moved away, then stopped. He looked back at Supergirl's dispirited face.

"And incidentally," he added in a softer voice, "you did good." Then he left. Supergirl looked shocked for a moment; then a part of her smile returned.

* * *

As Beacon headed to the teleporter, she passed by the locker rooms and noticed Batman leaning against a wall. Curious as to what the Detective was up to, she turned invisible, and then floated the air until she was a few feet from Batman. The door to the showers opened, and Green Arrow walked out with a towel around his waist.

"Well, if it isn't the monster-killer." Batman said coolly

"I was lucky," Arrow replied humbly, "so was everybody else. Still don't think I belong up here."

"That's the point," said the Dark Knight, "someone like you will keep us honest."

"Gee, Bats, I don't know; don't get me wrong; I enjoy a good radiation burn as much as the next guy, but I don't think…" Green Arrow's eyes widened beneath his mask as his voice trailed off.

Beacon followed the archer's gaze, and saw a stunning blonde woman on the female side of the locker room. She wore a black leather jacket, black leotard, nylon stockings, and black boots, which she was slowly putting on. Black Canary was her name, if Beacon remembered correctly. Looking back at Green Arrow, she could swear that the archer was actually drooling.

"So," said Batman with a smirk, "see you soon?"

Green Arrow smiled back. "You just might."

Beacon rolled her eyes. _Oh brother_, she thought as she floated back to the teleporter, turning visible again as she landed. The Halfa smiled to herself; what an adventure this is turning out to be.

**And there you have it folks, Beacon's adventure with the Justice League has begun.**

**Now if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. You know where to leave 'em. **

**Till next time, PEACE OUT EVERYBODY!**


	6. In-between Chapter 1

**Danny Phantom and Justice League Unlimited are not owned by me. No matter how much I want them to be.**

**Hiya fellow FanFic enthusiasts! First off I want to thank you for all the views, follows, favorites, and reviews. It really motivating to know that you guys for enjoy this story so far. For it is all of you that keep this story alive, and for that I thank you.**

**Now about this chapter, I'd like to treat this as a sort of filler chapter, used for developing and introducing some characters. Now with everything out of the way; let's do this. Ready? Set, GO!**

Beacon of Justice

IN-BETWEEN Chapter 1

**Miami, 4 Months before Initiation**

After Rachel watched Clark and Diana leave, she was so overcome with excitement that she could barely think straight. The only thing on her mind was the thought of how much her life has changed. She was going to be a member of the Justice League! Granted, the initiation was still months away, but when the time comes; she is going to be working with some of the greatest heroes on the planet.

Rachel paced back and forth throughout her living room, and then sat down on the sofa as her mind began to race. _I wonder what these new members would be like, _she thought. _What their powers would be? Would they would be like…like…._

The Halfa frowned as her train of thought carried her back to her childhood; she remembered being exactly _this_ excited when she found out that she had been accepted into the Guardian program, and throughout her ten-year career; she had overcome many trails, whether alone, or with friends and family, and had found her once true love. She was having the absolute best time of her life, but then in a blink of an eye, all of her happiness was shattered. She had tried to not think about those that she had lost, but the more she tried, the more it ached. No matter how she looked at it, she could only reach one conclusion. _They_ are gone, and they won't be coming back.

Rachel was interrupted when something vibrated in her pocket. She pulled out her phone, and clicked it. The Halfa grinned when the display flashed four o'clock; she'd set her phone to signal her whenever it is time for the next activity of the day. She put her phone away as she rushed upstairs to enjoy her favorite pastime.

* * *

Rachel's phone vibrated again a couple of hours later; signaling that it was time for dinner, and later; her night patrol. The Halfa ran back downstairs into the kitchen and grabbed some leftovers from the fridge. After hastily eating her food, Rachel changed into Beacon. Then she became invisible, and used her intangibility to fly through the ceiling of her house. Once she distanced herself from her house, the Halfa turned visible again. Rachel used this routine as a way to cover her tracks. She didn't want people to figure out where she lived.

Rachel did think that was kind of redundant to conduct a patrol in a city that has hardly any crime, and it seemed that accidents were uncommon. However, she chose to patrol the city anyway, because she would go completely insane from boredom if she didn't, and the occasional crime, no matter how small, would happen.

Suddenly, Beacon heard the sound of gunfire. _Speak of the devil, _she thought. She flew to where several police officers were taking cover behind their squad cars, dodging the gunshots coming from the building in front of them.

Beacon moved over and crouch next to one of the officers "Officer, can you give me a sit-rep?"

The officer look over the roof of the car, but then quickly ducked under with the shots hit the car. "We've got a hostage situation," the officer explained, "There are multiple hostiles and hostages in the building."

Beacon nodded. "Okay, all of you hang tight. I've got it covered." With that she faded from sight. A few of the cops that had been watching nearby looked at each other breathed a sigh of relief; now that Beacon was here, they knew that the criminals would be taken care of, but their thoughts were interrupted as more shots hit their squad car.

As Beacon flew into the main lobby of the building, she spotted several gunmen firing out of various windows, and the hostages huddled in a corner of the room. Two gunmen were pointing their weapons and shouting at them.

_I need to make this quick, _she thought. Beacon split off into two, and then she and her duplicate separated. Beacon quickly knocked out the two men by the hostages, and quickly worked on undoing the bonds around their wrists and ankles. While at the same time, her duplicate disarmed the other gunmen firing out the window. As soon as all the gunmen were knocked unconscious, Beacon released her hold on her duplicate.

"Is everyone okay?" Beacon asked the crowd. The former hostages either murmured, or nodded in response. "Good, your all safe now, get out of the building as quick as you-"

Beacon whirled around when she felt the presence of two people behind her. She saw another gunman walking up to her at a slow pace, holding a woman in the hostage hold right in front of him. The woman was looked about in her late twenties; her face was stricken with terror as the tears flowed down her face.

_Dammit, _Beacon thought as she gritted her teeth, _I missed one. _

"Mommy!" The Halfa looked about over her shoulder, and saw a little girl emerge from the crowd. She was the spitting image of the woman. One person picked her up by the waist to stop her from running any further. "No! Mommy!"

"It's okay, honey," said the woman, "everything's going to be-"she gasped as the gunman poke the barrel of his gun to her head.

"Shut up, lady!" growled the gunman.

Beacon glared at the man. "Let her go!" she said through gritted teeth. The Halfa took one step forward, but didn't go any further when she heard to gun click.

"Don't come any closer, missy!" the gunman threatened. "Or the _Mommy_ gets it!"

The woman gave a little cry of fear as she tried to jerk away, but couldn't break his hold.

Beacon continued to glower at the man as she thought of a way to save to the woman. Then an idea came to her.

"I just wanna to know one thing," she said in a strangely calm voice, "You realize that you're all alone, right? And that there cops right outside the building? So what _exactly_ is you plan of escape?"

The gunman's slight hesitation was all she needed. In a blink of eye; the gun was yanked out of his hand, and a millisecond later, he grunted and toppled backwards to the floor. The woman jerked her head to the side to see a fist right where the gunman's face used to be.

"That's what I thought." said Beacon as she disassembled the gun with her one free hand, letting the pieces drop to the floor. Silence hung in the air for a few seconds, and then cheers erupted throughout the building as the people clapped, whistled, and shouted praise at the Halfa. The little girl from earlier ran up to embrace her mother. The latter scoop her up and for a while they cried into each other's shoulder. Beacon stepped away slightly to give the mother and daughter some privacy.

As the law enforcement and medical personnel burst into the lobby, the Halfa felt that it was time for her to leave.

"Wait!" Beacon turned just in time to see the little girl run up to hug her. The girl's head rested on the Halfa's stomach.

"Thank you." sobbed the little girl.

Beacon smiled as she knelt down be eye level with the little girl, and then put both hands on her shoulders. "I'm just glad that all of you're safe."

The little girl beamed as she embraced her again, in which the ghost-girl happily returned. Beacon looked up at the little girl's mother, whose face was still shiny with tears.

"Bless you." The mother whispered.

Beacon nodded as she and the little girl broke apart and the latter hurried back to her mother. Then the Halfa she rose into the air, and waved at them both.

"You stay safe now." Then she phased through the ceiling.

* * *

The rest of Rachel's patrol around Miami was relatively quiet after the hostage situation; there were no accidents, and no new crimes to stop. She was now sitting on the edge of the roof the city's tallest building, watching both the star-filled sky, and the tiny headlights down below. She smiled brightly as she thought about how grateful all those people were when she came to save them. How the mother and daughter were overcome with joy as they were reunited. She was just about to head back home when she felt her phone vibrate. She pulled it out and widened her eyes when she read the caller ID.

"Um…" the Halfa said hesitantly as she answered, "Hello? This is Rachel speaking."

"_Miss Rachel,_" a calm, British voice spoke on the other end, "_I trust that you are well._"

"Oh, uh, hi Alfred," this is weird, why was Batman's butler calling her? "I'm fine; is there something I can help you with?"

"_Actually_, _it is not me, but rather Master Bruce that requires your assistance,_" explained the butler, "_You see, Master Bruce will be away from Gotham City for a few days; he would like for you to come here and cover his 'work' for him."_

Rachel realized what kind of work Alfred was talking about, since it was highly unlikely that Bruce wanted her to run a multibillion dollar business. Still, the Halfa found it strange that the Dark Knight wanted her to cover his crime-fighting duties.

"Okay," answered Rachel, "I'll be right there."

"_Excellent. I will let Master Bruce know, and prepare a room at Wayne Manor for you._"

"Thank you, Alfred, I'll see you soon." As she hung up, Rachel turned back into her ghost form, and flew off towards Gotham.

* * *

**Gotham City, Wayne Manor**

Beacon turned back into her human form when she landed on the edge of the forest outside Wayne Manor. As she approached the wrought-iron gates, they swung open. The Halfa blinked, it's as if somebody was watching her approach.

_Oookkkaaayyy_, Rachel thought, _nothing creepy about that._

Rachel surveyed the mansion as she walked towards the front door. It had been repaired since the Thanagarian invasion, and all the lights were on inside the house. Rachel reached the door and knocked. A moment later, a young boy, probably in his early teens, opened it.

"Rachel Robertson?" the boy asked suspiciously.

"Um, yes?" Rachel replied as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Prove it, show me your powers."

Rachel blinked at him, why was he acting so tense? Then again, this was Bruce Wayne's house, so maybe the kid was Robin; she'd seen him a couple of times on the news, and he was the right height and age.

The Halfa didn't keep her eyes off the boy as her body flashed between tangibility and intangibility. "Good enough?"

The boy's frown remained as he looked behind Rachel; apparently looking for something that she couldn't see. Then he gestured for her to enter the manor. Once the door closed, his frown turned upside down.

"I've seen you on the news; you are absolutely awesome!"

Rachel didn't know what to say. She'd thought that anyone near Batman to be a lot more subdued. The boy held out his hand. "I'm Tim Drake by the way, AKA Robin."

Rachel shook Tim's hand as she gave herself a mental pat on the back for guessing his name right.

"Come on," Tim resumed, "Barbara needs to see us down in Cave."

"And Barbara would be…."

Tim froze. "Oops. I've said too much." He lightly smacked his forehead. "Okay, she's Batgirl, and don't call her by her real name unless she's told you herself. Okay? I don't want her to hurt me."

Rachel smirked. "Sure, no problem."

* * *

Once the two teens were in the Batcave, Rachel saw someone sitting at the computer. It was a young woman that wore a costume that was similar to Batman's. Rachel noticed that her mask wasn't connected to her cape; instead, it only covered her face and the top of her head, allowing her long red hair to flow over her cape. Batgirl turned around when she heard their footsteps approaching.

"Hey, Tim," she turned to Rachel, "and you must be Rachel Robertson; Batman told us about you."

"Has he?" Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Who knew he was one to gossip?"

Batgirl's giggle made the Halfa smile slightly. "Yeah, I think he said about four sentences regarding you. You should be grateful; that must be a new record for him."

Rachel smiled for a moment, but then her expression turned serious. "So, either of you know the reason as to why I'm here?" While she enjoyed the casual conversation, she knew Batman needed her for something, and she was intent to find out.

Both Batgirl and Tim looked a little upset at the Halfa's question. "Bruce is away for a meeting overseas." Batgirl explained. "He wants you to help us patrol Gotham while he's away."

"This is so unfair!" Tim blurted out, "He doesn't trust us enough to take care of things for a couple of days without him!"

Rachel thought about this for moment; it did seem odd to her too. Why wouldn't Batman trust the people who knew his greatest secret with patrolling the city for a few days?

"Sorry if I'm intruding; I can leave if you want."

Batgirl dismissed this with a wave of her hand. "Forget it; our problem is with Bats, not you." Just then an alert sounded on the computer. Batgirl turned her attention to the screen. "There's a robbery on twenty-nine street. Police are en route."

"About time," Tim exclaimed, "I've been dying for some action."

Batgirl nodded. "Suit up." She turned to Rachel. "Both of you."

The Halfa nodded as she transformed into Beacon. Batgirl watched as her blue rings travel up and down her body.

"Nice." She smiled.

Rachel grinned back. "Thanks."

Robin came back a moment later, now in his costume; he whistled when he saw that Beacon had replaced Rachel. Then both partners of the Dark Knight hopped onto their motorcycles and sped down the tunnel leading out of the Batcave, with Beacon flying right behind them.

* * *

**Gotham city, Twenty-Ninth Street**

When the trio reached the crime scene, the robbers had already left, and the police were securing the area with police tape. The officers noticed them approach, and while they gave nods of greeting towards Batgirl and Robin, they eyed Beacon curiously.

The Halfa looked at the store. The front window was shattered and from what she could tell from her position, a lot of the jewelry had been stolen.

"Aw, great," while Robin, "Bullock is here." Beacon turned and noticed a particularly large detective walking towards them.

"Oh, yippee, the Bat's kids are here," The detective was clearly not happy to see them. He raised an eyebrow at Beacon. "And who are you supposed to be? You know what-"He raised his hands. "I don't wanna know; I don't need another headache." Before anyone could respond, he turned on his heel and walked away.

"What a charming fella." The Halfa's sarcastic comment brought smirks from Batgirl, Robin and a few of the officers that heard her.

"Come on," said Batgirl, "we need to take a look at the crime scene." Batgirl, Robin, and Beacon approached the store, where a female detective was kneeling next to the broken window, examining the window.

"What have you got, Miss Alcana?" asked Batgirl. The woman stood up and turned to face the three heroes. Beacon noticed she had short brown hair, light brown eyes, and a beauty mark under her left eye.

"Well," the detective began, "there really hasn't been anything yet; aside from the missing jewelry. The perps hid their tracks well."

"Okay, we'll take a look inside," replied Batgirl. "Thanks."

The detective nodded as Batgirl and Robin walked through the door, while Beacon floated through the window.

"Show-off." Robin snorted, while the Halfa shrugged.

The two partners of Batman walked around the jewelry store, checking every inch of the store. Beacon could tell that they were excellent detectives; they left no stone unturned. Batman had trained them very well. After a few minutes, they walked back to Beacon.

"Well we know what was stolen…" Batgirl began.

"We know when the jewelry was stolen…" continued Robin.

"And we know how it stolen…" Batgirl added.

"…But we need to know _who_ stole it." Beacon finished. Batgirl and Robin both nodded.

"Ha! I knew someday that one of you caped freaks would screw up!" the three turned to see Bullock leaning against the doorframe with a smug grin on his face.

The female detective that stood next to him elbowed his large midsection. "Bullock, you're not helping." she said as she eyed the large detective irritably.

Bullock's grin vanished as he raised his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Aw, come on, Sonia. I was just having a little fun." The detective known as Sonia rolled her eyes.

"Hmm… maybe not," said Beacon, "Let me give it a try."

The Halfa flew out the broken window, and floated right above the shards of broken glass. She then narrowed her eyes as her interface activated. Batgirl, Robin, Bullock, and Sonia all looked curiously as the blue holographic strip appeared in front of Beacon's eyes.

Titbits of small text appeared on the visor's screen as Beacon stared at the glass on the ground. A moment later, she looked at the window frame, where a holographic representation of the window appeared on screen, and then as lines of code flowed up from the bottom of the interface's screen to the top as she watched the simulation window being scattered by a large object.

"Based on the shattered pieces; the window was smashed by a large blunt object." Beacon recited. Then as the Halfa studied the ground by looking through her device, she noticed a pair of footprints illuminated on the visor. "There's a set of footprints here, and…huh, that's odd."

"What's the matter?" asked Batgirl.

Beacon looked at the group. "There's two set of footprints in front of the window; one facing the store, and one facing away from the store, but that's it. That means whoever broke the window didn't walk into the store…" She rubbed her chin for a moment, trying to make sense of things. "…Unless…" She floated back into the store through the window, keeping her eyes on the floor. "Aha!"

"What is it?" Robin questioned.

Beacon followed at the pattern of both hand and footprints on the floor. She stopped when she saw them lead to a smashed glass case, and then followed the footsteps back to the window. Then Beacon deactivating her interface and landed next to the group, who were all waiting patiently for the Halfa to tell them what she found. Well, most of them were patient, anyway.

"So what'd you find with the fancy specs?" Bullock demanded.

Beacon looked at him impassively for a second, and then turned to the two crime fighters. "Based on the handprints and the footprints, I ran a simulation on how this place was broken into; first, this person smashed the window, then jumped into the store, and then did a series of cartwheels across the room before smashing the case and stealing the jewelry. After that, the thief ran back to the window and jumped out of the store."

"How'd you know it was only one thief?" asked Sonia

"The prints were all the same," Beacon answered.

"So let's add up what we have," Batgirl began, rubbing her chin, "The window was smashed by a large object…"

"And whoever stole the jewelry seemed to be quiet athletic…"

Another second passed before both partners of Batman's jerked their heads to look at each other.

"_Harley!_" they exclaimed.

"Who's that?" Beacon looked between both of them.

"Harley Quinn," Robin elaborated, "She's a psycho, and the Joker's bit-"

"Robin!" interrupted Batgirl. As the Boy Wonder closed his mouth, she turned to Beacon. "She's a dangerous criminal who's known to use a giant mallet as a weapon, and she's also a skilled acrobat."

"That would explain the prints on the floor." The Halfa said.

"It does," agreed Batgirl, and then she turned to the detectives. "Bullock, Sonia, can you put out a bulletin for Harley over at Gotham PD?"

"Got it." Sonia nodded.

"_Sure_, why not." Bullock sulked off. Sonia rolled her eyes as she shook her head. After bidding the heroes goodbye, she walked off after Bullock.

"Aww, I miss that big guy already," Beacon noted, "He was such pleasure to be around."

Batgirl and Robin both laughed.

* * *

**Wayne Manor, Batcave**

After returning to the Batcave, the three heroes sat down eating food that Alfred had made for them. Unlike Batman, the young heroes started to lose focus from their work without three meals a day. As they ate, Rachel asked the other two.

"So, how dangerous is this _Joker_?"

Batgirl and Robin froze and exchanged looks; apparently this was a very sensitive subject.

"Think of the complete opposite of Batman," explained Batgirl, "and then picture him in a purple suit and clown makeup. And presto, you have the Joker."

"Also imagine him with the creepiest grin ever, and a laugh that can give you nightmares." Robin added.

Rachel felt chills down her spine. Then the alarm on the computer sounded again. The three heroes bolted to the console, Batgirl sat down on the seat and started typing vigorously.

"Another jewelry store on Broadway was robbed" she announced.

"Think it's Quinn?" asked Robin.

"No question." Batgirl announced. "Come on."

The partners of Batman embarked their motorcycles, while Beacon floated in the air. Then they sped off out of the Batcave.

* * *

**Gotham City**

"Y'know somethin'? I don't even know why they bother to lock their doors!"

Harley Quinn sat in the passenger seat of a black convertible as it sped through the streets of Gotham City. The jester rampaged through her burlap sack that was filled with the stolen jewels, and pulled out an amulet with a ruby that was as big as an egg.

"Ohhhhh….." Harley mused as she examined the jewelry piece, and then she turned to the driver; a pale skinned women, with long red hair, pale blue eyes, and dark lips. "You think Mr. J would like it?"

"Hmm, don't know," Poison Ivy answered coolly, "but let's go hit a few more places before we-"Ivy stopped abruptly when she noticed the pair of headlights in the rear-view mirror. "Harley, we've got company."

Harley turned around, and then expressed a grimace.

"Great! The _Bat-Brats_ are here to ruin the fun!" she leaned over to the backseat and pulled out her bazooka. "Don't worry Red; I'll take care of 'em." The Jester looked down the bazooka's sight, and then pulled the trigger.

"Move!" Batgirl ordered as she and Robin swerved to avoid the incoming rocket. An explosion could be heard behind them as the rocket collided with something.

"WOW!" Robin exclaimed. "Thatwas _way _too close."

"Drat!" Harley scowled. "Gimme a second!" she hurriedly worked to reload her weapon.

Poison Ivy snarled into the rear-view mirror. "Allow me…" she extended her hand to the side, and then opened her palm. As she did so, little pellets flew out of her hand. Immediately after making contact with the ground, the little pellets sprouted into large thorned branches. They twisted and contorted until they formed a thick barricade of razor sharp thorns.

Batgirl and Robin looked shockingly at the obstacle in front of them, realizing that it's too late to stop. Both of them fired their grappling hook at a high angle, landing on the rooftop of nearby building at their motorcycles exploded upon crashing into the thorn barricade.

"Come on!" Batgirl barked as the pair hopped from rooftop to rooftop, determined to not let the two villains escape.

"Nice one, Red." Harley smirked.

Ivy smirked back as she stepped the gas pedal, except she noticed that the car wouldn't accelerate, frowning she floored that gas pedal; the engine roaring in response, but the car still wouldn't move any faster. Quite the contrary, the convertible was actually slowing down.

"What the-?" Poison Ivy began as the car slowed to a complete stop. Then something or rather _someone _appeared out of thin air, causing both criminals to scream and jump back.

"W-Who the heck is _she_?" Harley demanded as Beacon's intangible hands reach into the front of the car, and a second later, the Halfa pulled out the entire engine block, and set it down on the hood; metal creaked and the car dipped forward at the extra weight. Finally Beacon flew above the windshield and grabbed both Harley and Ivy by the front of their collars. Then she landed back on the ground; with the two criminals dangling a few feet off the road.

"End of the line, you two." The Halfa pointed out. Harley and Poison Ivy looked at each other for a moment, and then exchanged light smirks. Ivy opened her hand, and blew something to Beacon's eyes.

"AHH!" The Halfa screamed as she felt her eyes sear with pain. The Halfa instinctively shut her eyes and covered her face with her hands. With the mysterious girl now occupied, Harley ran back to the car, grabbed a large gym bag, and hoisted it on one shoulder. The Jester turned and noticed Batgirl and Robin sprinting towards her. Harley rummaged through her bag until she took out a red boxing glove, and then aiming it at the duo, she launched the glove.

Unfortunately for Harley, Batgirl and Robin were able to dodge the projectile by ducking underneath it. Robin, who was right behind her, threw a bola at the Jester. Harley struggled against the gadget that pinned her arms against her sides tightly, but then she was just able to make out Batgirl's shadow when she punched her squarely in the jaw. With a wretched grunt, the Jester fell to the ground unconscious.

Both partners of Batman smirked at the motionless Harley on the ground. However they celebration was short-lived as tiny seeds landed on their bodies. Upon contact, thick vegetation began to sprout from the seeds, encasing the two crime fighters. Batgirl and Robin tried to fight against it, but the plants were unyielding, and soon enough they were both trapped inside a cocoon of vegetation.

Poison Ivy walked in between the two cocoons. "These kids just _never_ learn…" she bragged as she shook her head. She was about to lay more seeds down when something blurred in front of her, catching her wrist, and holding on to it painfully tight. Ivy grunted and looked to see Beacon standing there, one eye was squeezed shut, while the other was half-way opened and twitching slightly. Tears flowed freely from both eyes.

"Don't count _me_ out." The Halfa grunted. Poison Ivy's blue eyes grew to the size of pool balls right before Beacon slugged her in the forehead, knocking her out cold. She didn't fall flatly to the ground, because Beacon still had a hold on her wrist.

* * *

After blinking several times and wiping away her tears, Beacon's eyes regained the proper function. She ran towards where Batgirl and Robin were trapped, and pulled them out with her intangibility. When the Halfa pulled them out, aside from their costumes being torn up slightly, both crime fighters seemed unharmed. However, when Beacon released her grip on the two, making them tangible again, Batgirl and Robin both hug their arms and shivered violently.

"_C-C-cold._" Batgirl struggled.

"Oh, sorry…" Beacon smiled apologetically. "It's a side effect when someone isn't used to it."

"I-I d-don't think I'll ever g-get used it." Robin said through chattering teeth. Beacon maintained her smile and shrugged.

After a couple of minutes, Batgirl and Robin had regained their body heat. They then handcuffed Harley and Poison Ivy and waited for the Gotham PD to arrive on the scene. After the two criminals were taken away, Bullock and Sonia stayed to exchange a few words with the heroes.

"Well, looks like you two aren't _completely _useless without the Bat after all." Bullock sneered.

"Hey!" yelled Robin as he pointed his thumb at his chest. "We handled it."

Bullock looked up and down his torn costume, and then etched a smug smirk. "_Yeah_, _yeah_, sure you did, Boy Wonder." With that he turned and walked back to his car.

"Snobby jerk." Robin muttered.

Sonia just looked at three of them. "Thank you," she said. "We'll take care of everything from here."

They all exchanged nods. Then as Sonia turned to enter the squad car, the heroes scaled to a nearby rooftop. They continued going from rooftop to rooftop until they made it back to the tunnel to the Batcave. When they reached its dark interior, Robin finally spoke up.

"I'd say that went well," he claimed, the two girls eyed him curiously. "Okay, so it wasn't perfect, but we still got the job done! I don't see why Batman wouldn't trust us more often."

Beacon changed back into Rachel as she thought about this more deeply, and then realized something.

"I don't think it's like that."

The partners of Batman exchanged looks. "What do you mean?" Robin asked confusingly.

"I don't think he asked me to come here because he doesn't trust you two. " Rachel explained. "I think he asked for me to come here because he wanted to protect you two."

"_What_?" Robin jeered. "We don't need protection."

Rachel raised her hands in a gesture of peace. "Hey, hey, take it easy, just hear me out." She lowered her hands and walked over to the display that housed the Batsuits. "While I would agree that both of you are more than capable of handling yourselves out there." Batgirl and Robin frowned; they knew there was more than Rachel was leading on, and sure enough, "but, you both lost focus over a small victory, and _that _left you open for Poison Ivy's attack. If I hadn't been there, who knows what could've happened."

The Cave was silent for a moment. "So, what are you trying to say?" questioned Robin.

Rachel turned around and eyed the two intently. "Batman has done a lot for me; providing me with a home, and a new identity. He even wrote my parents' will and death certificates. I think him finding out what happened to me had opened some old wounds, and he just didn't want it to happen again; he just wants to keep you two safe." The Halfa placed both hands on the shoulders of Batgirl and Robin. "This isn't about trust; it's about not losing the ones he cares about."

Rachel knew what she was saying when she mentioned "old wounds". While adjusting to her new home, she had done some research on the Dark Knight, or more specifically; Bruce Wayne. She found out how his parents were murdered right in front of his eyes. It had been heartbreaking to find out how Bruce's life was turned violently turned upside down by a common mugger with a gun.

Batgirl and Robin's eyes found the floor; they were ashamed that their trust in Batman was shaken so easily. Rachel was probably right; they, including Alfred were the closest thing Bruce had to a family, and they barely survived the Thanagarian invasion. Batman was sure to be a little protective for a while.

"I never thought about like that." Robin admitted slowly.

The Cave was silent for a moment. Then Batgirl looked at her partner in crime. "Let's be more careful from now on." Robin nodded. Batgirl turned back to Rachel and pulled off her mask with one hand while extending her other one for the Halfa to shake. "I'm Barbara, by the way, Barbara Gordon."

Rachel smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Barbara." The two shook hands.

* * *

The next couple of days were pretty uneventful; the worst that the three heroes had to deal with were a few attempted muggings. Otherwise, they stayed at Wayne Manor. Normally, Barbara would be spending most of her time in college, but since her school had a series of faculty meetings, she was off for a few days.

They chose to spend their free time training. Rachel would transform into her ghost form, and the Batgirl and Robin would try to find ways to beat her. This was quite the challenge as the Halfa's sensory, intangibility, and invisibility had made it extremely difficult. However when Rachel chose to train with them in her human form, the odds were dead even; the skills the two Gothamites possessed were undeniable.

"Wow," Tim panted as the three of bent over gasping for breath, "You're tough on _both _ends."

Rachel smiled as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Thanks, but you didn't think I'd neglect training my human half, did you?"

They all laughed softly.

* * *

After their training sessions, the three heroes would share stories of their adventures. However, it was mostly just Rachel telling Barbara and Tim about her life in her own universe.

"Hold on a second…" Tim cut in, as if he didn't hear something properly. "….Did you say _girlfriend_?"

Rachel blinked confusingly at him. "Umm, yeah? Why? Is there a problem?"

Tim widened his eyes as he had his hands up defensively. "No, sorry!" he answered embarrassingly. "It's just that I never expected-"He stopped talking as he don't know how to finish the sentence.

Barbara shook her head, and then glanced at the Halfa. "I'm sorry about him."

Rachel chuckled slightly. "Oh, that's okay. Don't worry about it."

When Batman finally returned, he gave brief thank-you, and told Rachel to leave. Rachel said her farewells to Barbara, Tim, and Alfred, and then headed home. She couldn't figure out why, but the more good that she did, the better she felt about everything. Maybe it was because she was preventing other families from any mourning.

After Rachel left, Barbra Gordon sat down on the couch in the living room in Wayne Manor, deep in thought. Listening to Rachel's stories had sparked a recent memory from a phone call she had before the Halfa arrived in Gotham city.

* * *

**Wayne Manor, a few days earlier**

"Hello?"

"_Hi, Babs, it's Kara."_

"Oh, hey Kara, what's up?"

"_Nothing much, but listen: I need you opinion on something."_

"Sure Kara, what is it?"

Silence hung in the air as Barbra waited for Kara to speak on the other line. Then the Kryptonian took a deep breath.

"_So…. I've met someone, and lately this person has been on my mind a lot lately…. "_

"So..." Barbra worked on putting the pieces together. "… What you are trying to say is you like this _person_."

There was another moment of silence. Barbara's smiled as she imagined her best friend's face going red. Clearly, she had guessed right.

"_Ugh, I don't know, I-I'm just so confused." _Barbra frowned as she noticed the edge in Kara's voice.

"What are you confused about? Is this person kind of sketchy?"

"_No, no, it's just-"_Barbra heard Kara sigh into the other line. _"It's just that… she's a girl."_

Silence filled the room again. Barbra widened her eyes; this caught her completely off guard. "So… you _like_ a girl…" Barbra finally realized.

"_Is that weird?" _

Barbara regained her composure, and spoke in a reassuring tone. "Of course it's not, Kara. Although I would admit it's… different, but it doesn't matter what I think; what's important is what _you _think."

When Kara didn't answer, Barbara continued.

"Listen, even if you're unsure about all this. You should at least talk to her, and even if she doesn't give you the answer you were hoping for, you wouldn't have to live the rest of your life with the regret of not knowing."

"_I-I don't know…"_

"I'm not saying you need to do it _now. _Just do it when you feel the time's right."

"_O-okay. I'll think about it."_

"Good, and one more thing, Kara."

"_Yeah?"_

"No matter what happens, I want you to know that you're my best friend and I will always support you."

"Thanks, Babs." Barbara grinned when she heard the hopefulness in Kara's voice.

"Sure thing, Kara." Barbara said before Kara hung up.

* * *

**Present day**

_Huh, what are the odds? _ Barbara thought as she figured out who Kara had fallen for. She smiled as she thought more about it. She couldn't quite put her finger one it, but Rachel and Kara just seemed like they'd go well together.

"This is going to be interesting." She muttered to herself.

* * *

**Okay, I hope you enjoyed me introducing the characters from the Batman universe. In addition to Justice League, Batman was one of my favorite; that and Batman Beyond.**

**I'd like to apologize if some of you were thrown off by Tim's slight homophobia. I don't know what the normal reaction would be if you found out someone that you just met was a homosexual. Me, personally I wouldn't freak-out about it, and would generally just acknowledge it.**

**Thank you all for reading, and I will see you all next time. Stay frosty out there! **


	7. Chapter 6

**Danny Phantom does not belong to me.**

**Justice League Unlimited does not belong to me.**

**And now here is Chapter Six for everyone to see.**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 6

**North Pole; the Fortress of Solitude**

Wonder Woman steered her invisible plane out from the pale, white clouds. She carefully guided the aircraft straight towards a massive ice structure. Upon closer inspection, it seemed completely unnatural from the otherwise frozen plain. The plane dove into the water at the edge of the ice, and head into a tunnel carved deep below the surface.

"A little sharp on the turn, don't you think?" asked Batman.

"Sorry if I scared you." Wonder Woman apologized sarcastically.

Rachel giggled, but stopped when she saw Batman give her one of his signature Batglares. The Halfa smirked as she rolled her eyes away from the Dark Knight.

As the plane surfaced in an icy cave, the cockpit opened and the three Leaguers hopped out. Wonder Woman stopped to pull out a box covered in gift wrap. Rachel pulled out a chrome sphere the size of basketball.

As they walked through the tunnel, Batman eyed the sphere curiously. "So…" he said slowly. "You got him a shiny _ball_?"

Rachel smirked. "Oh it's more than _that_. This is just something I whipped up from the science division on the Watchtower; the Kents, Kara, and Steel helped me work on it."

"I didn't know you were such an inventor." noted Wonder Woman.

Rachel silently looked at the Amazon for a second, and then smiled. "Thanks, but I didn't invent this," she lifted the sphere slightly higher. "It's actually based on my cousin's design. He was the real inventor."

As they began walking up a flight of stairs, Batman asked, "So, what does it do?"

"_Bruce,_" Wonder Woman shook her head. "She can't say anything; he'll hear her and spoil the surprise."

"You do realize," replied Batman in a mock-whisper, "He can hear that too."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "What'd _you _get him, Bats?"

Batman raised an eyebrow. "He isn't the easiest person to buy birthday presents for." he answered as he pulled out an envelope.

The other two Leaguers stared at the envelope. "Bruce…" began Wonder Woman.

"You didn't get him a gift certificate, did you?" Rachel finished for her.

"_No!_" Batman replied defensively, "…Cash."

Both the Amazon and the Halfa looked at each other as they struggled not to laugh.

"I mean," the other ladies turned as Batman continued, "What do you get for the man who has everything?"

* * *

As they reached the top of the stairs, they froze. Standing in front of them stood Superman, but he was just standing motionless in the center of the room. There was a strange purple plant had its vines twisted around his body, and there was a blank look in his eyes. Without hesitation, the trio rushed towards the Man of Steel.

Batman examined the plant closely. "It seems to be growing through his costume and into his body."

"Is he breathing?" asked Wonder Woman anxiously.

"Barely." The Dark Knight replied grimly.

"But… how is the thing piercing his skin?" Rachel questioned. "I thought he was…"The Halfa jerked her head towards the stairs behind Superman. "… Someone's here, up the stairs!"

"I got it!" Wonder Woman flew on ahead while Rachel turned into her ghost-form. As she was about to fly off after the Amazon, Batman called out to her.

"Wait, I need you to stay here to help me with Clark."

The Halfa looked at the top of the stairs, whatever she felt earlier was stay there. Nevertheless, she hurried back to Batman. "Okay, but do you know anything about this thing?"

Batman reached into is utility belt and pulled out a flashlight. Then he shined it in Superman's eyes. "Pupils aren't contracting even slightly," he muttered to, "he must be cut off from all sensation. Kent, where are you?"

Beacon bit her lower lip, and then looked down at the container at Superman's feet. It was two halves of an oval-shaped package. As she knelt to examine it, a thought came to her. "So it was a gift," the Halfa realized.

Batman picked up one of the halves. "It must've been teleported here by some alien culture or some grateful world. Or someone who wanted Clark to think that they were grateful."

Before his train of thought traveled any further, Batman heard Beacon gasp. He turned to see a massive figure standing in the entrance to the hallway that Wonder Woman had flown through. He was huge, yellow-skinned alien, and wore a purple jumpsuit. He was clutching an unconscious Wonder Woman in one of his massive hands.

"How remarkable," the alien commented smugly with a smirk on his face as he started to walk down the stairs, "You animals are really _almost_ intelligent. That's exactly what happened."

Rachel stood up and glared at the alien. "And just who the heck are you?"

"Mongul," Batman growled as he too got to his feet.

Beacon's eyes widened as the memory of that name came back to her. Since her initiation into the Justice League, the Halfa had studied the mission logs in the Watchtower's computers to gather more information on the League's past missions, as well as examining the files on the villains they'd fought. She remembered reading Mongul's file, apparently; he was strong enough to be a threat even to Superman.

"You recognized me," Mongul remarked in a sadistic tone. "I'm flattered. I'm sure that Superman told you about our previous encounter."

Batman raised an eyebrow. "You mean how he humiliated you?"

Mongul's smirk disappeared as he marched up to the two Leaguers. "A… jaundiced account."

"Let her go, you creep." Beacon demanded.

Mongul glared between both of them, and then held up Wonder Woman as if she were an insect that was being examined. "What inferior specimens he surrounds himself with. I took her down before she even knew I was there. And I'll take this whole planet _just_ as easily."

At that exact moment; Wonder Woman's eyes snapped open, and swung both of her legs into Mongul's face. The shock of the impact caused him to release his grip on her, and drove him to one knee.

"Maybe not as easily as you think." The Amazon said. Mongul rubbed his jaw and glared at her as she continued. "We 'inferior specimens' call it 'playing possum'." Mongul got back up to his feet.

Beacon rushed to Wonder Woman's side. As she, Wonder Woman and Mongul got into their combat stances; Batman stepped between all of them.

"No." he barked.

Wonder Woman stared at him in complete shock. "No?!"

"What are you doing, Bats?" Beacon demanded.

With a superior smile on his face, Mongul stepped up to them. "Clearly the males on this planet are the smart ones." Beacon snarled at the alien; he was really starting to get on her nerves. "He wants to know about the plant." He walked up to Superman. "The Black Mercy is a telepathic species; it reads the heart's desire and feeds the individual a totally convincing simulation of it." It didn't seem possible; the massive alien's smile became even more sinister.

"So he's dreaming." Batman put together.

"That is wrong on _so _many levels." Beacon remarked.

Mongul's expression looked almost offended. "Oh, this is far deeper than any dream." He tilted Superman's face up to look into his eyes. "I wonder where he thinks her is?" Sitting on a throne, ruling the universe? All you human garbage fawning at his feet? More honest, don't you think, than this pretense of being a selfless hero?"

Mongul turned to see Wonder Woman slam into him. The Amazon punched Mongo twice in the face, making Mongul stumble back a few feet. After striking him, Wonder Woman nearly collapsed. Both Batman and Beacon rushed to her side; Apparently, Mongul was so strong that she'd nearly broken her hands hitting him.

Mongul wiped his mouth, and then stood back up with a wicked smirk. "You don't understand," he quipped, "_He _was the only obstacle in my way. The rest of you, are already dead."

Beacon groaned loudly as she stepped in front of Batman and Wonder Woman. "Can you _please_ just stop talking?!" The Halfa held her hands out, and shot a pair of energy beams at the large alien, hitting him in the chest and made him fall to his knees. This time, Mongul felt pain, and as he looked at the smoke flicker on his chest, he wondered how a child could possess that much power.

Deciding to join the fight, Batman and Wonder Woman charged. Mongul, however, was more ready for these two. He dodged Wonder Woman's attack and backhanded her into a stalagmite. Batman jumped on to his back in an attempt to subdue the alien, but Mongul reached back and grabbed the Dark Knight's head. He then threw Batman onto the ground, causing him to skip across until he stopped behind Superman. Before Mongul could crush Batman, an energy beam hit him in the side of his torso. He turned as Beacon kneed him in the jaw, and quickly spun around and extended her leg right into his face. Mongul recovered enough to thrust his fist at the ghost-girl. Unfortunately for him, Beacon deflected his attack downwards and delivered a spinning heel kick to his cheek, causing the alien to stumble sideways a few feet. When Mongul turned to glare at the girl, he realized that she had disappeared. A second later, he felt pain as his chest was pummeled several times. Then he felt something slammed under his chin, lifting him off his feet and making him fall on his back viciously.

Mongul got back to his feet and saw Beacon, Batman, and Wonder Woman standing in front of him, all ready to continue the fight. The alien decided he needed a different tactic; he'd kill the Bat and the Amazon first, and then focus all of his energy against the child. However, Batman had other plans.

"Diana! Can you keep him busy for a few minutes? I think Rachel's powers could help get this thing off of Superman!"

Wonder Woman nodded, and then tackled Mongul, knocking him through a wall, and then followed after him.

"Are you sure she'll be okay?" The Halfa asked, concerned.

"Don't worry. Diana can take care of herself. _We_ have a bigger problem." Batman gestured to the Black Mercy. "Can you use your intangibility to get thing off of Superman."

Beacon nodded. "Okay." Then she grabbed the plant and turned intangible. Sure enough, the Black Mercy turned intangible with her, but so did Superman. Beacon stared at the plant, and tried again, but both the Black Mercy and Superman turned intangible together.

"I can't turn one without the other." The Halfa turned to the Dark Knight. "The plant must be too deeply connected with him."

Batman narrowed his eyes for a moment. "Then we need to do it the old-fashioned way."

Beacon nodded, and then tightened her grip on the plant. At first, it wouldn't budge; bracing herself, she pulled as hard as she could. Slowly but surely, the Black Mercy began to come off. Taking this as good sign, the Halfa pulled harder. Suddenly, it detached itself from Superman and jumped right at her!

She gasped as the Black Mercy wrapped itself around her chest. Her hands jumped up to it in an attempt to pry it off, but before she could, her face went blank.

"No!" cried Batman, as Beacon's arms fell limply to her sides.

* * *

**Hall of Weapons**

Wonder Woman slid across the floor, her body covered in scratches and bruises. As Mongul approached her, the Amazon picked up a large weapon at her side and aimed it at the alien.

"Oh dear," Mongul raised his hands in mock surrender. "Is that a Neural Impactor?" he lowered his hands and stalked towards Wonder Woman. "I didn't know they were still making those." Wonder Woman looked down the Impactor's sight, and honed in on Mongul. "I'd advise you to try the Plasma Disruptor. It's more of a _woman's_ weapon."

"Go to…" She fired the Impactor, a bright yellow energy beam shot straight into Mongul's chest. The blast made skid across the floor a few feet, but then the alien crossed his arms in front of him and walked back towards Wonder Woman. The Amazon widened her eyes as Mongul steadily approached her. When he finally reached her, he yanked the weapon out of her hands and grabbed her neck. Wonder Woman punched his face, but it didn't seem to faze him as he locked his other hand around her throat.

Wonder Woman grunted as she attempted to pry the alien's fingers off around her neck, but his grip was too strong. She tried again, kneeing him in the abdomen, but Mongul just slammed her to the ground.

"First I'll kill you, the Bat, and the child," He stated. "Then I'll take this planet."

"You, won't, win." She choked.

Mongul crept closer to Wonder Woman. "Of course I will." He said cruelly. Then he lifted her up, and slammed the Amazon back into ground. Finally for good measure, he stomped on her with his massive boot.

* * *

**Elsewhere**

The water flowed freely from the faucet as Rachel splashed the cool liquid on her face. After turning off the water, she wiped her face clean with a towel, and then looked into the mirror. As her reflection's clear face beamed back at her, Rachel thought about the day ahead. _Wonder what assignments we're gonna get today?_ Rachel took a deep breath, she could hardly wait.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a hard knock on the bathroom door. The Halfa opened the door and saw a girl about her age. She had fair white skin, light amber eyes, and short, perfectly shiny and straight hair dark purple hair; on the left side of her fringes were an X-shaped silver ornament and a gold one shaped like two parallel stripes right next to it. She wore a black leather jacket that came with a hood over a white V-neck t-shirt, a pair of dark colored short jeans with a chain tied to two loops on one side, black stockings that gradually fade to purple near the bottom, and black hi-top sneakers.

"Are you going to be ready sometime this year?" she questioned as she crossed her arms.

Rachel smiled and flung her arms around the girl's neck. Then she leaned in and kissed her. "Sorry about that, Ari," she said when they broke apart. "I'm just excited to start the day."

Ariella rolled her eyes. "You say that every morning, and if you are _actually _excited, I'd imagine you'd _hurry_ so you could start the day sooner."

Rachel giggled. "I suppose you're right." Their lips met again.

"Ay, you two!" shouted someone from down the stairs. "If you aren't coming we're leaving without you!"

Ariella looked at the Halfa, smirking a little. "You think he'll be true to his word?"

Rachel gazed into the other girl's eyes and smirked. "No way, he wouldn't dare." She held her girlfriend's hand, interlacing their fingers. "Come on." She hurried down the stairs, pulling the Ariella with her.

* * *

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they found two young men standing by the front door. One crossed his arms and eyed the two girls hotly with his piercing blue eyes; he wore a pair of jeans, a black shirt underneath a green jacket, and black and white sneakers. His brown hair was styled in a medium-length crew cut. The other young man just stood there with his hand behind his back, looking from both the girls and the man next to him periodically with his brown eyes. He had pale skin, wore a pair of fitting black pants, a black long sleeve shirt with a red vertical stripe on the left side and a red line surrounding the cuffs. On his feet was a pair of polished black boots. His uniform brown hair was styled in a bowl cut, with the sideburns extending past his hair line.

"Took you long enough," grumbled the one with shorter hair. "I swear, one of these days I'll just leave without telling you!"

Rachel raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Aw, come on, Rob, we all know you'd never do that."

"It would be highly irresponsible of you to leave teammates behind, Robin." the other young man remarked. "Given you role as team leader."

Robin glared at his friend. "I thought you were on my side, Jonah?" he pouted.

Jonah shrugged. "It was not my intention to favor one party over the other. I was merely stating the facts."

Robin rolled his eyes as he turned back to his cousin, the latter giving him a sweet smile. He sighed as his posture loosened up. "Oh who am I kidding?" he realized with a smile. "I can't stay mad at you."

Rachel flung her arms around her cousin. "But seriously though." Robin added in a serious tone as he slid back the left sleeve on his jacket, revealing a small gauntlet-like device on his wrist. He clicked tapped the screen, and a holographic projection of a digital clock appeared. "We _really _need to go!"

Rachel and Jonah nodded, while Ariella eyed the device curiously. "Y'know you don't have to be so flashy when it comes to telling time, right?"

Robin chuckled as he looked at her. "_This_ is more than for telling time. It's an all-purpose device that allows me to do almost _anything_. And it's has been critical to the success of some of our past missions. The specs on it are actually really interesting! See-"

"_Ahm…_" Jonah coughed, stopping Robin from continuing his spiel. "I believe you mentioned we must be on our way."

"Yeah, exactly!" Rachel firmly pushed her cousin out the door. "We can go over how awesome you inventions are later. Now let's go!"

* * *

Once out of the house. Rachel felt her hair flow along with the gentle breeze. She looked up into the bright blue sky, filled with dazzling white clouds, and…floating islands with some as big as a continent. Tiny dots of hover-cars could be seen every direction every now and then.

"Traffic seems light this morning." Ariella deduced.

Rachel beamed at her. "Yeah, it is." She turned to her cousin. "That means we could leave later from now on, right?"

Robin smirked. "Not gonna happen, Cuz. Now change." As he finished, a bright green ring appeared around him. It split into two and traveled up and down his body, when they vanished; he wore a black cargo pants with small padding on his knees, and the bottoms were tucked into his white sneakers. He wore a dark green short sleeved jacket over a white compression shirt, elbow pads, black gloves, and his wrist gauntlet was now clearly visible. His hair was now snow white, and his eyes a light green.

Rachel nodded as she changed into her own ghost form. Then the four of them walked to the edge of their floating island.

Robin eyed the other Halfa intently. "The usual?"

Rachel smirked. "You're on…" the two Halfas turned to their companions. Jonah remained impassive while Ariella smirked slightly as she shook her head. Then she raised her arm to the sky.

"Ready?" Rachel and Robin knelt down into the starting position.

"Set?" The two lifted their lower bodies, steadying their breathing for the next word.

"GO!" Ariella waved her arm downwards.

Dust blew into the air as the two cousins blurred off the edge of the cliff. Ariella and Jonah could see two white streaks moving rapidly through the air. The two companions exchanges looks with each other, and then floated after the Robertsons.

* * *

**Fortress of Solitude**

Superman slowly shook off the effects of the Black Mercy; his eyes found Batman as he tried to pull the plant off of Beacon's body. Then the memory came back to him: Mongul! This was all his doing! He'd done this to him! He'd made him see the end of his world, the end of his family! He heard the sound of fists against flesh, and a woman cry out in pain; that meant Mongul was fighting… Diana! Ignoring Batman, he flew off, intent to make Mongul pay for what he's done.

* * *

Wonder Woman was lying on the ground, her body nearly broken by the vicious beating she received from Mongul. She blurred in and out of consciousness as the alien from War World picked up a two-pronged spear, and prepared to plunge it through her heart.

Mongul's sadistic smile was in full force; he prepared to impale the Amazon with his weapon, when a noise made him pause. He widened his eyes just in time as Superman collided with him, barreling through room after room of the Fortress. The two eventually landed in Superman's makeshift "zoo", a place he kept the he'd once rescued from an alien collector.

In a fit of pure rage, Superman threw punch after punch, not caring how much damage was done to his Fortress. "Do you have any idea what you did to me?"

Mongul had to endure Superman's savage beating for another minute before he recovered enough to kick the Man of Steel backwards. Though the beating was painful, Mogul maintained his cruel grin. "I fashioned a prison that you couldn't without sacrificing your heart's desire." He cracked the stiff tendons in his neck. "It must have been like tearing off your own arm."

He reached out and grabbed Superman's head, and then punched him across the room.

* * *

Wonder Woman slowly crawled back to the room where she had last seen Batman and Beacon. Every fiber of her being ached and every tiny movement was excruciating. She knew that she was in no shape to continue fighting, so the best thing she could do was stay away from the battle. After a few minutes, she made it back. However, the scene before the Amazon was enough to distract her from her pain.

She saw Beacon standing still, staring blankly into something far away as Batman strained to pull the Black Mercy off of her chest.

"Rachel, no…"

Batman heard her and turned around; shock registered on his face when he took in her beaten state. "Are you alright?" he asked as he helped her up.

"I'll live," Wonder Woman answered weakly, "what happened to Rachel?"

"She pulled the plant off, but it latched onto her."

"_Hera_." The Amazon gasped.

Batman just stared at her. "We'll either need Superman to pull it off, or else Rachel has to somehow snap of it herself."

"Well, Superman's busy with Mongul; we're stuck with the latter." She looked at the Halfa. "Can you get me to her?"

Batman nodded, and steadied her as she limped over to Beacon.

Looking directly into her eyes, Wonder Woman spoke in a quiet tone. "Rachel, I don't know if you can hear me, but wherever you are, whatever you're seeing, _it isn't real_. Come back to us, Rachel; come back to us, please."

* * *

**Elsewhere**

As Rachel walked, she frowned and rubbed her head.

"Rach, are you feeling alright?" asked Ariella, concerned etched in her voice.

Rachel shook her head to clear it, and then smiled at the other girl. "Yeah, I'm fine," she assured, "just felt a little strange for a second, that's all."

Ariella reached down and gave Rachel's hand a gentle squeeze. The Halfa looked longingly at her girlfriend and returned the gesture. The four companions walked through the forest until they reached the clearing. They were standing on the edge of a cliff. About a hundred yards beneath them was a large warehouse.

"Okay," Rachel turned to Robin, "What have we got?"

The male Halfa took out a pair of binoculars, and studied the warehouse. "Hmm, yep, no doubt about it, it's the _Guys in White_."

"There are appears to be several flaws in their defensive formation surrounding the building." Jonah added as he looked through his own binoculars. "It is possible that they are actually _inviting_ a raid on their compound."

"What could they be up to?" questioned Ariella. "Manufacturing weapons, holding captured ghosts to sell as slaves or experiments."

Jonah put his binoculars away, and looked at her. "Whatever the reason may be, until we know more, they are both equal possibilities."

The two girls nodded. Rachel turned to her cousin.

"What kind of equipment are we dealing with?"

"Hmm," Robin narrowed his eyes. "Anti-ghost rifles mostly, but we need to be careful just in case there's more."

Rachel and Jonah nodded.

"So what's your call, Rob?" Rachel asked.

Robin put his binoculars away and held out his gauntlet. As the group huddled in a circle, the male Halfa took a knee and tapped the screen; a holographic grid appeared, showing a replica of the warehouse. "Okay, three of us will take a corner," as he said it, three dots appeared on three corners of the map. "And create a distraction to scatter them, and hopefully it will draw out whoever's inside the warehouse too." He looked at his cousin. "While _we _are busy with those guys, you deal with the inside; free any hostages, find any evidence of the things that Ari mentioned, and take care of anyone that chose to stay behind."

Rachel bent over slightly, taking in the details of the building. "Got it." she nodded.

"Shall we discuss an alternative strategy in case our first plan fails?" Jonah asked as Robin deactivated his gauntlet and stood back up.

"If anything goes wrong and you have an idea, just call it out." Robin looked at the others. "That goes for _all _of us."

They all nodded in understanding. Ariella raised an eyebrow at Jonah. "Always have to play the devil's advocate, don't you?"

Jonah moved his head slightly. "It is only logical to convey multiple options."

"Great, now we've established that." Rachel floated into the air. "Let's go finish this and go get some Ice Cream!"

Robin smiled at his cousin's excitement, and then looked at the other two. "Ready?"

Jonah pulled a white cloth out of his pocket, and wrapped it around his forehead. Then pulled a small object out a compartment in his belt and clicked it. The object folded until it became a long-handled hammer, with the head the size of a smaller-than-average watermelon.

"Indeed." He said as he rested his weapon on his shoulder.

Ariella's hands were encased in two black circles of energy as she said. "Ready."

Robin turned back and glared at the warehouse. Then taking breath, he made the call.

"Alright, let's GO!"

* * *

The plan had gone without a hitch. Just as suspected, the agents of the GIW were drawn to three corners of the compound, and in no time at all; they were easily beaten. Rachel was able to find evidence of illegal weapons, and the captured ghosts, and worse she'd actually found human men, women, and children.

_What did they hope to accomplish?_

After freeing the hostages, Rachel went back to the entrance of the warehouse to meet up with her friends. Ariella pulled Rachel into a firm embrace when they met up.

"I'm fine, Ari." The Halfa replied. "You didn't need to worry."

In answer, Ariella brought her lips to Rachel's. For a moment, all that existed were these two. Then the sound of fingers snapping broke them apart. The two girls turned to see Robin standing there glaring at them. While Jonah just stood upright with his hands behind his back, looking as impassive as ever.

"Now that I have you two lovebirds' attention," Robin said coolly, "I've call HQ and they'll be here soon to handle the evidence and hostages."

"Oh, right." Rachel replied, smiling blankly. "After that, let's go and get…"

_Rachel!_

"Huh?" Rachel jerked her head up, and then she looked around the place. A voice had called out to her, but she saw nothing. However, even though she didn't recognize it, it somehow seemed familiar.

"Rach, what's the matter?" Robin eyed his cousin with concern.

Rachel placed a hand on her head, and shook it slightly. "It-it's nothing," she replied, "I thought I just heard…"

_Rachel!_

Rachel gasped and stumbled as she heard the voice again. It was the voice of a woman; she sounded scared, desperate even. Who did it belong to? Why was it so familiar? She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to figure everything out.

"Rachel? Are you alright?" asked Ariella. "Talk to us."

"_C-can't _you guys hear that?" Rachel demanded.

The other three exchanged looks with one another.

"There is nothing _to_ hear." Jonah answered bluntly.

"Yeah," Robin chimed in, "I think we should head back and get you some med-"

Before the male Halfa could finish, the warehouse began to shake. Cracks grew along the floor and walls, windows began to shatter, and pieces of the ceiling began to rain down upon them. Then the ground beneath their feet spilt open, and they fell.

_Wait, _Rachel thought, _we're falling? How? _A moment later they landed back on the ground. Except the texture was different, it was a lot softer than before.

"Intriguing," Jonah began as he got up, "This appears to be…"

"Grass," Ariella finished as she felt the material.

"Precisely."

"B-But how is that possible? How to did we fall underground, and land on grass?"

"I think the better question is," Robin tapped his chin. "How did we _fall_? I mean we can all fly; unless the Guys in White had some kind of tech that jammed our powers."

"Even if they did," said Ariella. "My powers are magic-based, they couldn't jam _that_!"

"It is rather mysterious." Jonah commented.

"Hmm," Robin hummed, tapping him chin. "What do you think about all this Rach?"

"…"

"Rachel?"

The other Halfa didn't respond as she laid there on her hands and knees. Directly underneath her was a puddle of water, with her reflection staring back at her. She didn't know why she was staring into her reflection; everything on her face seemed right expect… expect, for the thin vertical line running down her left eye. She absentmindedly traced it with her fingers.

_Rachel! Come back to us! Please! Come back!_

There's that voice again. She'd definitely heard the voice before. The voice belonged to a friend, it belonged to… _Diana!_

Rachel gasped at her memories burst, like water from a dam, throughout her mind. She wasn't really _here! _She wasn't even in her own universe. She was in a new earth. She was a member of the Justice League.

She then remembered arriving in the Fortress of Solitude; she remembered fighting Mongul, and helping to take the Black Mercy off of Superman. The plant unattached itself and latched onto her… She was living in a fantasy; none of this was real! Which meant all of her loved ones; Robin, Jonah, and Ariella… were all dead.

* * *

**Fortress of Solitude**

"Rachel!" pleaded Diana. "Snap out of it! It's not real!"

Batman looked into the Halfa's eyes when he saw them dilate.

"It's working!" declared the Dark Knight. "She's fighting it!"

Upon hearing this, Diana pulled out all the stops. "Yes, that's it Rachel!" She cried. "You're almost there! Fight it!"

Rachel squeezed her eyes shut and clamped her head between her hands. Tortured grunts escaped her throat.

* * *

**Unknown field**

…_Fight it!_

"AH!" Rachel grunted in pain as her head threatened to split open.

"Rachel?!"

Her three loved ones rushed to her side. Ariella grabbed her shoulders, trying to steady the Halfa. "Rachel, what's wrong?"

Rachel opened her eyes and stared into some unknown direction. "None of this is real…" she breathed.

"What are you talking about?" asked her cousin.

"There was the _fire_." An image of a burning building flashed in Rachel's eyes.

"The puddles…" An image of green liquid flashed.

"And…and…"

Rachel began to hyperventilate, and she clutched her head as it threatened to burst again.

* * *

**Fortress of Solitude**

"Rachel?" asked Diana.

The Halfa didn't respond; she just stumbled and held her head, twisting this way and that. She was still in obvious pain.

What happened next stunned Bruce and Diana, a light blue glow was beginning to envelop Rachel's figure, becoming more intense by the second.

"What's this?" questioned Diana.

* * *

**Rachel's mind**

"Rachel," Ariella gasped as she steadied the Halfa, "you're scaring us!"

She just stared at them as the tears flowed from her eyes. _"You-You 're all dead!"_

"WHAT?" Robin, Jonah, and Ariella shouted in unison as Rachel hugs her arms and sobbed.

"Rachel," Ariella whispered. "We're fine, we-"she was silenced when the Halfa kissed her, and then collapsed into her arms.

"Just hold me, all of you." She begged. "_Please_."

She said no more, but continued to sob in Ariella's arms. After a moment that seemed like an eternity, the Halfa felt her cousin and friend join the embrace.

The three companions were silent as they held the distressed girl in between them. Then everything began to shake again. Rachel knew she didn't have long.

"I-I love you all." she choked, "_Always._"

A red glow filled the surrounding area. Then everything exploded.

* * *

**Fortress of Solitude**

"Bruce! What's happening?" Wonder Woman demanded.

The glow emitting from Rachel was so intense they had to put their hands up to shield their eyes. The Halfa's breathing was becoming sharp and more unsteady.

"I-I have no-"the Dark Knight stopped mid-sentence when he saw Rachel shuttered violently, and then she jerked her head upwards, spreading her clinched fists, and screamed. It was a horrible and wretched scream, full of agony and despair. The glow became blinding as a shockwave rushed out of the Halfa, causing the two Leaguers to skid back a few yards.

Afterwards, the screaming stopped, and the glowed vanished. Rachel's vision blurred back into focus as she felt something detach from her chest, looking down; she saw the Black Mercy on the ground, twitching slightly. The Halfa locked eyes with Batman and Wonder Woman, both of whom stared back at her in complete shock. Rachel hugged her arms, and turned back into her human form. Then she collapsed to the ground on her knees, tears streaming down her eyes as she wept.

Wonder Woman looked at Batman, who looked back at her before shaking his head. Diana limped over to Rachel, knelt down, and embraced her. Rachel continued to sob as Diana gently rubbed her back.

"There, there," she whispered in a calming voice, "it's okay, Rachel, it's okay…"

Batman could only guess what Rachel had experienced: The Black Mercy must have shown her with her loved ones again, and she had believed that it was real with every fiber with every fiber of her being, only to realize that everything was a fantasy… a fake. As for the explosion of energy, Batman deduced that it was her subconscious fighting the effects of the plant, and for a moment she lost control of her powers. He looked over when he something twitch out of the corner of his eye; the Black Mercy had survived and was probably looking for a new host to feed off of.

The Detective knew just who to give it to.

* * *

Mongul threw Superman into the wall, as the yellow alien stalked towards his enemy, he snarled.

"You should've stayed in whatever happy fantasy the Black Mercy granted you."

With a growl, Mongul charged at the Man of Steel, a several punches, and a vicious knee to Superman's abdomen. Then he clamped his fists together, and slammed them down on Superman's head. The force was so powerful, it scattered the floor; sending both aliens falling down into a lower level that housed the giant statues of Jor and Lara-El.

Amongst the dust and debris, Superman got to his feet first, his face twisted with rage.

"_HAPPY?!_" He roared as his fist sent Mogul flying into the base of one statue. Before Mongul could recover, Superman blurred in front of him and pummel his face; he'd lost his home twice now, and he had been there to _witness _it the second time.

"Do you know what I've lost?!" He demanded between strikes. "What I've-"He stopped as he looked upwards. He stared at the stone faces of his mother and father. His face relaxed as he remembered what his parents wanted to him to do: they wanted him to be a hero, not a raging brute.

Mongul took this opportunity and grabbed Superman's head, and then drove his knee into the Kryptonian's chest. With the wretched grunt, Superman fell over unconscious.

"You know for a moment there," Mongul told him, "I almost believed that you were gonna kill me." Superman groaned as he brought his head up. Mongul was there in front of him, holding a giant boulder above his head. "How stupid of you to hesitate like that, not a mistake I'll make, I assure you." Superman struggled to get back to his feet, but his chest was in so much pain, that he couldn't focus. Mongul held the boulder even higher, ready to bring it down of the Man of Steel.

"Happy Birthday, Last Son of Krypton," said Mongul, "I give you oblivion."

"Not today!"

The two aliens look up to see Batman swing the Black Mercy right at Mongul, the alien could only widen his eyes before it hit him.

"You can have your _gift _back…" the Dark Knight growled in his signature tone.

Superman and Batman stared at the motionless form of Mongul. The alien was lying on the ground, the Black Mercy wrapped tightly around his chest. There was an evil grin etched on his face.

"What do you think he's seeing?" asked Superman.

"Whatever it is," replied Batman with narrowed eyes, "it's too good for him." Then he turned to Superman. "Come on, we need to check on Diana and Rachel."

Superman raised his eyebrows at his friend. "What happened to Rach?"

"When she pulled the plant off of you, it latched onto her by mistake." Batman glared at Mongul again. "Whatever fantasy she was in, whatever it put her though… it devastated her…"

Superman nodded in understanding. The two Leaguers walked back up one level to find Rachel had stopped crying, but her eyes had become glassy and distant. She was still in Wonder Woman's embrace as the Amazon whispered soothing words to her. Diana was in obvious pain, but she was willing to put that aside to comfort the Halfa. Rachel's eyes drooped as her breathing steadied, and then she fell into slumber.

"We should get her home." Superman suggested softly.

Superman scooped Rachel up, and set her down gently in the invisible plane, while Batman helped Wonder Woman limp inside.

As the plane took off out of the water and back into the clouds, Wonder Woman contacted the Watchtower.

"J'onn? Can you patch me through to Kara? It's… urgent."

* * *

**Kent Farm, Smallville**

Kara sat on the front steps of the Kent house. She had been thinking the conversation she had with Barbra all those months ago. Her best friend had assured that there was nothing to worry about, but she still felt unsure of herself.

"Kara?" someone called behind her. The Kryptonian turned and saw Martha Kent standing behind her. "You okay?"

Kara blinked for a second, and then smiled at her adoptive mother. "Yeah, I'm doing great."

Martha raised an eyebrow as her lips formed a line. "_Kara_, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

Kara's face fell. Then she sighed as turned to face the front. "Yeah, I know."

Martha chuckled slightly as she sat on the steps next to her adopted daughter. "So, what's bothering you?"

Kara looked at down at her hands. "Has your heart ever told you one thing, but you brain is telling you something different?"

Martha chuckled slightly. "More times than I can count," she assured, "now what's the matter?"

Kara bit her lower lip. "I-I think I like someone, but it's not exactly…normal." As she said this, red was creeping up on her cheeks.

"Oh, Sweetie," Martha sighed. "Love is love; that's all that matters."

Kara bit her lower lip. "Okay… but I just don't know how to say it."

Martha put a hand on her shoulder. "Trying saying what's in your heart, and you'll do just fine, okay?"

They sat there in silence for a moment, and then Kara's communicator beeped in her ear. "Supergirl here, go ahead." She said as she pressed a finger into the communicator.

"Kara…"

"Diana? What's up?"

"It's Rachel," Kara felt a little confused to hear the Amazon's tired voice. "She needs your help."

"What's the matter?" she asked, her concern rising. "Did something happen?"

"I'll explain later," replied Wonder Woman, "Can you come to Rachel's house."

"I'm on my way." Kara said firmly. She lowered her hand as she looked at Martha. "I gotta go! Anyway, thanks." She gave Martha a warm embrace. Then she soared into the sky, heading for Florida.

"Good Luck!" Martha called out.

* * *

**Miami**

When Supergirl reached the front door to Rachel's house, she knocked on the front door. When Diana answered it, the Kryptonian was surprised to see the Amazon with bandages over her arms and head, and she suspected that underneath her civilian clothes wore even more injuries.

"What happened?" demanded Kara anxiously as Diana gestured for her to come inside.

Diana sighed. "As you know; today is your cousin's birthday. So Rachel came with Batman and I to celebrate with him, but when we got there; Mongul was waiting for us."

Kara gasped as her hands jumped to her mouth. She knew about the warlord; she'd been studying the old case files with Rachel.

"Did he hurt her? Where is he now? I swear if he-"she said the last part through gritted teeth.

"Kara, slow down." Diana interrupted. The Amazon was caught slightly off-guard by Kara's reaction. Granted, she too had been upset after seeing what the Black Mercy had done to Rachel. She was certain anyone in the League would have been. Kara however, seemed a little… _infuriated _by the news. After the Girl of Steel took a calming breath, Diana continued.

"Rachel is alright, at least, she is physically."

"What do you mean by 'physically'?" Kara's anger had receded somewhat, and now just seemed worried.

Diana frowned. "Mongul had attached a plant to Clark; it made him live his heart's greatest desire. When Rachel pulled it off, it did the same thing to her. Except, she was able to snap out of it herself, but… she didn't come out unscathed."

"W-what happened to her?"

"Well," the Amazon sighed, "you should go see for yourself." Diana gestured towards the stairs.

"Thanks, Diana." Kara hurried upstairs.

* * *

Diana limped over to living room and sat on the sofa. The fight had only ended several hours ago, and even with her accelerated healing factor, her body still ached all over. She'd wished Batman would've stayed behind as well, but to be honest, the Dark Knight isn't exactly the comforting type. At the moment, only the founding members of the Justice League and Kara knew about what happened, and for Rachel's sake, they intended to keep it that way.

* * *

Kara easily found Rachel's room; there was only one door that was left ajar. She pushed the door to find the Halfa sitting on her bed, hugging her knees close to her chest. She was white as a sheet, and her glassy eyes stared unseeingly into the blankets in front of her. Rachel didn't even acknowledge Kara in any way as she came.

"Rach?" asked Kara, but all she got for an answer was silence. Taking a breath, Kara walked over and sat on the bed, directly in front of the Halfa's field of vision.

"Rach…" she repeated as she gently squeezed the Halfa's hand. That got Rachel to look at her, but Rachel still didn't seem to _see _her. There was something in her eyes; Kara thought about it and remembered where she'd seen that look in Rachel's eyes before. It was that night at the Kent Farm where they first met; when the Halfa had spoken about her family's death. Rachel must've lived through it again.

"Rachel, look, I don't know you went through over there; but I want you to know that I'm here for you if you need me."

Rachel just stared at her for a moment. For a split second, Kara thought that she was going to break down again, just like she did the first night at the Kent farm. The tears, however, never came. Instead, Rachel simply uncoiled her body, and wrapped her arms around her firmly. Kara felt her cheeks grow warm in the embrace, but after a second of hesitation, she returned the hug.

"Thank you." Rachel breathed in Kara's ear.

* * *

For the next couple of days, both Diana and Kara stayed at Rachel's home. Other members of the League had come by to visit, but Diana and Kara hardly left the house at all. During to the first few days, Rachel just sat on her bed, still as a statue, and just as silent. Kara was worried that the Black Mercy had permanently affected the Halfa's mental well-being. Whenever she would try and talk to her, Rachel would say no more than a few words, and with each passing day, Kara grew more and more anxious. Until on the fourth day, Diana and Kara were surprised to hear music coming from upstairs. As they listened more intently, they realized that the tunes belonged to a piano. Kara exchanged looks with Diana, and then pair of them walked upstairs to investigate.

As the two heroes walked down the hallway, the tune became enchanting, and more mesmerizing. Kara pushed the door open and saw Rachel sitting in front of a polished grand piano. Her eyes were closed as she gently pressed her fingers down on the keyboard. Kara just stared as Rachel swayed this way and that, and occasionally leaned into the instrument. It was as if the Halfa's mind and spirit were intertwined by the piano's steady rhythms.

Rachel finished the piece with a last soft, lingering note. After the note was silenced, she opened her eyes, and stared at the black and white keys in front her, then the sound of clapping made Rachel turn her head. When she did, Rachel saw Diana and Kara standing in the door way, beaming at her as they applauded.

Grinning, Rachel stood up, swept her leg back, and gave a curtsey bow.

"That was beautiful." commented Kara.

"It was indeed." Diana agreed.

Rachel grinned admiringly at both of them. "Thank you."

* * *

As they walked downstairs, Diana wanted to know what had brought Rachel's sudden change in behavior. She was glad to see that the Halfa was feeling better, but curiosity was getting the better of her.

When they took a seat of the sofa, the Amazon asked her question. "Rachel," she began, the girl looked at her. "I am curious: what brought about the change?"

Rachel paused for a moment, and then smiled. "I guess just knowing that I have people who are there for me when I need them," she turned to Kara, "just made me feel a lot better."

Kara returned Rachel's grin.

The next day, both Diana and Kara felt that Rachel had recovered enough to not need people watching over her shoulder. They packed their belongings and got ready to leave.

Diana had prepared to contact the Watchtower to be teleported when Rachel wrapped her arms around her.

"Thank you, Diana." She said. "For being there after I got that plant off of me."

Diana smiled as she returned the gesture. "Of course, Rachel." They broke apart and she put a hand on the Halfa's shoulder. "I know that you'd do the same for me."

Rachel smiled back. "I also wanted to thank you for saving me."

"How do you mean?"

Rachel frown slightly as her eyes fell. "If you hadn't called out to me, I don't know if I'd been able to break free. I still don't even know if I _wanted _to break free."

Diana understood what she meant; during her stay at her home, Rachel had told both and Kara about the fantasy that the Black Mercy had put her in. For her to see the people she love most, and then realize that it was all a lie… Diana couldn't even imagine how devastating it would be.

"But who knows," Rachel resumed. "The fact I was able to let go could be a sign, that… that I'm starting to move on; Maybe it's a sign that I can live without them… or at the very least," The Halfa paused, "that I can live without seeing them again."

Diana pulled him into another hug, which she returned. "I'm glad to hear that, Rachel." She let go and took a step back. Then she put a hand to the communicator in her ear. "Ready, J'onn."

Rachel closed her eyes as a flash of light appeared. When she reopened them, Diana was gone. She then noticed someone walking behind her; she turned around and saw Kara standing at the top of her stairs, dressed in her Supergirl costume.

"I am guessing you heard all that?"

Kara smiled shyly. "A curse of super hearing." She floated down the stairs. "Still, I'm happy that you're starting to move on."

"I want to thank you too," Rachel told the Kryptonian, "for coming all this way, just for me."

"Oh, it's nothing. Distance doesn't really matter when you can fly." She avoided looking into Rachel in the eye; glancing down, then up. Simple eye contact seemed to be difficult for her.

"Are you okay, Kara?"

At the words, Kara's cheeks flushed pink. Rachel raised an eyebrow, _was it something I said? _She thought.

"Are… are you sure that you're gonna be fine here all by yourself? I… I mean don't mind staying longer if you need me to."

Rachel blinked in confusion. Why was she so nervous about asking her to stay here longer? What was she afraid of? "Kara," she began with a smile. "You're welcome to stay here anytime you want, but you don't have to stay here just to keep an eye on me; I'll be fine." Somehow, Kara seemed a little upset by this. "But, if any problem comes up, no matter what it is, you'll be the first one I tell, okay?"

Kara brightened up at that. "You better, or _else_."

Rachel gasped slowly as she put a hand over her heart. "You don't think I _would? _I 'm offended, Kara." She said, exasperated.

Kara giggled pleasantly. "Sorry." Then she pulled Rachel into one of her bone crushing hugs.

"Ow!" Rachel gasped. "Kara!"

"Sorry!"

As Rachel wheezed air back into her lungs, she stared at Kara. The Halfa noticed her cheeks were still pink, as a matter of fact; they were a tinge darker than before. Is there something wrong?

"Kara, what's up? Do you have something you want to tell me?"

Kara widened her eyes. "Um, uh, uh." She stuttered as she turn beet red and her eyes fell to the floor. Rachel wanted to say something, but she decided to be patient, allowing Kara to gather her thoughts. After another minute, Kara looked right into the Halfa's eyes. "I'm just glad you're feeling better, Rach. "Then she leaned and planted her lips on Rachel's cheek. "Watchtower, I'm ready to go." As she disappeared, Kara saw Rachel standing rooted to the spot, looking absolutely stunned.

Rachel stood there, eyes as big as pool balls, face flushed bright red, and her heart pounded in her chest. Kara had placed her kiss inches from her own lips. Did this mean that she…? Rachel realized that her liking girls was common knowledge among those that are close to her, but in all their time together, it never occurred to her that Kara felt that way about her. She slowly raised her hand to feel the spot where Kara had put her lips, it was still warm. The Halfa felt the corners of her mouth arched upwards.

"_Huh._ "

* * *

**So Kara finally worked up the courage to admit her feelings. Awe! That's so sweet! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are enjoying this story overall.**

**Now, you guys might be wondering why I used the **_**Guys in White **_**in Rachel's fantasy. First off, in the show: they are a pro-human group that wants to rid the world of all ghosts. They even went as far as planning to nuke the Ghost Zone! With that said, it made sense for me to use them as bad guys. Secondly, I realized that I haven't really used a lot from the Danny Phantom universe, and I found this as an opportunity to use something that you guys would be familiar with instead of coming up with something that none of you recognize.**

**As for Rachel's family and old girlfriend, I know I've dropped their names several times in previous chapters. Now I've introduced them to give you all at least an idea of who they were.**

**Thank you reading and I will see you all later. **

**Stay frosty out there!**


	8. Chapter 7

**BESIDES MY OWN ORIGINAL CHARACTERS, I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING FROM THE ELEMENTS FOR WHICH I AM USING IN THE THIS STORY.**

**I'd thank you all once again for all the favorites and follows. Since this is my first time writing FanFics; any number of FAVs and Follows is better than a whooping NOTHING! THANK YOU ALL!**

**NOW IT'S TIME TO MAKE LIKE TEAM ROCKET AND BLAST OFF AGAIN! HA! ****Ha... ****ha****... ****YEAH I'M SORRY, THAT WAS BAD…**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 7

**Remote Mountain Range**

Two figures, a boy and a woman, floated through the ruins of a society that has been long gone. Neither of them paid any attention to the crumbling stone pillars that leaned every which way. They, but mostly one of them, were focused on the stone temple directly in front of them.

A bright yellow light glowed in a circle across the wall of the temple. When it disappeared, the light had bored a hole into the stone, allowing the two figures to float into the temple.

"This better be worth it, Mother." The boy said hostilely, not looking up from his handheld video game. He wore a purple tunic with gold stripes, cap, and cape. He had blond hair that ended at his chin, and bright blue eyes. "I mean it."

"If the legends are true, it will be." His mother replied. She wore a fuchsia-colored dress with gold trimmings, and a gold and black chest piece. Her face however, was covered by a golden mask with black eye and mouth slots.

They continued to float along the temple as the boy looked up. "You've been saying stuff like that for, like, centuries." He turned back to his game. "Nothing ever changes."

"Everything's changed…" the woman said impassively. "Except you, Mordred, and that's because I want you to still be young when I gave you your kingdom."

"I want to be king _now!_" the boy raised his voice at the last word. The two stopped when they were directly in front of a sitting statue of a six-armed creature. In the left hand of its two lowest arms, something glowed in a bright pinkish hue. "What's this thing? Another stupid charm?" The thing inside the statue's hand glowed brighter as if it heard the boy's snobby comment.

"It's the Amulet of First Magic," His mother answered, shielding the boy behind her, "The source of all earthly sorcery. "

"Hmm, shiny," He remarked as he climbed the statue, stopping right next to the hand that held the glowing object.

"Be ready, Mordred." The woman's eyes glowed in a mixture of gold and purple as she raised her arms. Then yellow-green energy glowed around her hands, and shot out towards the statue. The pair of energy beam made contact with its hand, and slowly, the hand began to uncoil. Mordred saw the shiny, purple amulet right the middle of the statue's palm. After a second's hesitation, he snatched it from the statue, and eyed the amulet in awe.

After his mother had cut off the flow of energy, the statue's hand once again curled up into a fist.

"At last," she bellowed as she held out her hand expectantly, "Mordred, give that to me."

Her son's face became smug as he turned to her. "Why should I?"

"Silly child," the woman replied. "You're not…"

Mordred ignored his mother and placed the amulet around his neck. "Not what? Ready?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Not big enough or old enough? None of that matters Mother," a smirk began to form on his face, "because, now I'm strong enough." His eyes lit up in the same color as his mother's, but unlike her, sparks of electricity coursed out of his eyes.

"Mordred!" his mother barked as she raised her arm and shot an energy beam in an attempt to subdue her son. However, the boy merely swatted the beam aside as if it was nothing. The woman gasped as her son gave her another smirk.

Bright purple energy surrounded Mordred as his clothes began to change. Gone were his cap and tunic. Now he wore a suit of gold and black armor, a red cape, and three pointed crown.

"I'll have my kingdom," The boy declared, "and without anyone telling me what to do." He then pointed a finger at his mother. "I never want to see you, or anyone older than me ever again." He then raised his palm up in the air, and then a wave of purple and gold energy erupted from his hand.

"No!" the woman shouted as the wave of energy hit her. A second later, she vanished from sight.

* * *

**Elsewhere; Federal gold reserve**

"Pound their heads!" yelled Blockbuster, a large man with bulging muscles as he charged. The villain threw his fist, only to have it stopped by Superman's hand.

"Pound your own," Superman retorted. He drove Blockbuster's fist back, hitting his jaw with his own hand. He followed with a punch to the villain's gut, and then finished with an uppercut that sent him crashing into a shelf of gold bricks.

At the same time, Wonder Woman was fighting Cheetah, the genetically-modified woman hybrid. Cheetah swung her leg at the Amazon, but with no effort, Wonder Woman caught her ankle, and then threw the hybrid across the room, slamming her into a pillar.

Meanwhile on the other side of the room, Batman was going toe to toe with KGBeast, a masked muscular man with a gun where his left hand should be. After dodging several of the masked man's bullets, the Dark Knight threw a batarang at him, but KGBeast was able to lean out of the projectile's way. The batarang did momentarily cause him to turn away from his opponent, and he turned back to just in time before Batman's fist connected with his face.

The attack didn't seem to faze the gunman much, because he blocked Batman's next punch and grabbed him by the base of his collar. The Detective noticed his vision began to blur when he heard the sound of a gun's hammer being primed. A split second before KGBeast could fire his weapon, a black boot landed across the side of his face. With a loud grunt, the gunman dropped Batman, fell over, and skidded unconscious several yards away. Beacon glared at the motionless villain, while Batman tried to get oxygen back into his lungs. Beacon heard a sound behind her, and without looking, she snatched the batarang out of the air. The Halfa then walked over to the Dark Knight, and held the projectile out to him.

"You're welcome." Beacon informed.

Batman just stared at the girl coolly as he took the batarang back, and stowed it in his utility belt. "I had that." He countered. Then without another glance at the ghost-girl, he stalked past her. Beacon watched him go while she smirked and rolled her eyes.

At the moment the only villain left standing was Copperhead, a man who wore a snake outfit, in addition to his venomous fangs. He was currently jumping from pillar to pillar trying to avoid Green Lantern's energy blasts.

"I won't go down so easily!" he hissed as leaped towards the Lantern. The latter merely maintained his calm expression and constructed a brick wall with his ring. Copperhead didn't even try to avoid it as he slammed face first into it, promptly knocking himself out.

"Sure you will." Green Lantern said with a grin. As the Leaguers rounded up the fallen villains, Wonder Woman bound them together with her lasso. "Guess that's a wrap."

The other four heroes gave him a quizzical look.

"Sorry; been hanging out with Flash too much."

Beacon turned her head when she noticed three security guards approach them. They were followed almost immediately by a wave of purple and yellow energy.

"Look out!" the Halfa shouted. The three guards turned to around, and only had time to look in fear as they disappeared into thin air.

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern all looked shocked as the wave of energy rapidly approached them. Thinking instinctively, Beacon rushed forward, and created a shield with her own energy. However, the wave just passed through the shield as if it wasn't even there. It covered the five heroes, and then they too disappeared.

* * *

**Another Dimension**

The five Leaguers opened their eyes and surveyed the scene around them with complete confusion. They were no longer in that gold vault. Instead, they were standing on a chunk of floating rock; above them was a white sky, crisscrossed by jagged red and black lines. Beacon could see more floating rocks out in the distance, each one with people on them.

"It was Judgment day!" Copperhead ranted. "And we got sent to the bad place! The bad place!" He grunted when Cheetah slapped him in the face.

"Snap out of it, Copper!"

"Calm down!"

The villains turned to see the five Leaguers standing a few feet from them. "We're probably in another dimension." Green Lantern hypothesized.

"Have any of you noticed something odd about all this?" asked Batman.

"You mean besides _everything?!_" Copperhead blurted out, causing Cheetah to smack him in the back of the head.

"There are only adults here." Beacon answered, as if Copperhead hadn't spoken.

Wonder Woman looked around. "She's right; there doesn't seem to be any children here."

"That's because a child is responsible."

The heroes turned to see a woman floating towards them. Beacon narrowed her eyes when she saw the mask that covered her entire face. After noticing the other heroes going into their fighting stances, the Halfa did to same.

"Morgaine Le Fey." Batman growled.

"I mean you no harm." Morgaine stated immediately. "My son Mordred has wrought this treachery; banishing all adults to this shadow realm." She turned away from them, and looked out into the distance. "Even me, his own mother, and after I spent millennia feeding him, bathing him, preparing him to be king. Where did I go wrong?" She lowered her head and clutched it between her hands.

"With all due respect, ma'am," Beacon said with as much tact as she could muster, "We don't have time to go over you parenting skills."

"Yeah," Green Lantern agreed, "we need to figure out how to turn everything back to normal."

"You're a sorceress." Wonder Woman stated to Le Fey. "Can't you just undo his spell?"

Morgaine shook her head and turned back to them. "No, he's got the Amulet of First Magic; he's too powerful." She paused for a moment, and then turned to the heroes. "But if we all work together…"

Beacon realized what she meant, but Batman beat her to the punch. "You want us to defeat your own son?"

Even though her face was hidden, it didn't mask the smugness in Le Fey's voice. "So don't trust me. Let him rule the world and all your children. Here we will stay, _forever_."

"But what can we do?" Wonder Woman asked. "We're stuck here, aren't we?"

"I don't think so." Beacon remarked, "I am pretty sure Morgaine here has a plan."

"Very perceptive, child." Praised Le Fey impassively, and then she addressed all the Leaguers. "Yes, the spell only banishes adults."

Beacon felt chills down her spine while Green Lantern shook his head. "I don't like where this is going."

"It's the only way." The sorceress said firmly. The heroes looked at each other for a moment. Then everyone nodded except Beacon, who was looking at the ground and gnawing her lower lip. She seemed to be conflicted about something.

"Beacon?" Wonder Woman called. The Halfa looked at her teammates.

"We have to do it." Superman stated firmly when he and Beacon locked eyes with each other. The Halfa still looked hesitant, but nodded nevertheless. The five heroes then turned back to Morgaine.

"Excellent." whispered Le Fey, "_Milugu sagaroth, raboth tanaabu, kathuta!_"

With a flash of green light that emitted from the sorceress's hands, the heroes disappeared.

* * *

**Fuseyland Amusement Park **

Mordred floated into the amusement park. After landing on the ground, he expressed a sadistic smile as his eyes glowed purple and yellow. A flash of energy projected out of his body, as it spread, the world's appearance began to change: the trees became leafless, the sky became a dark purple, and the castle of the park took a more sinister, gothic appearance. With but a single glare from the sorcerer, the other children followed Mordred without as much as a backward glance. If they had looked back, they might have seen the shadows behind them; shadows that led to five eight-year-old heroes.

"This better be temporary," said Batman as he looked down at his much younger self.

"You sound weird," noted Superman, "whoa. So do I."

Wonder Woman smiled and put her hands on her hips. "I kind of like this." The young Amazon also noticed that she was a good few inches taller than her teammates.

"Yeah, I'm not so sure," said a voice next to them. The others turned to see the eight-year-old Rachel Robertson, who was still in her ghost-form. She still sounded like her older self, but her pitch was a bit higher. While the other heroes had remained in their costumes, though they were kid-sized ones, Rachel had completely changed. Gone was her usual outfit. Instead, she now wore white boots, a bright blue track suit with a vertical white stripe on the left side and the right side of the jacket, and down the sides of her matching pants. Her hands were left bare, but the piece of cloth was still tied around her left leg. Rachel's hair was now tied into pigtails, held in place by a black hand-tied bow on each side; the color of the bows seemed to perfectly contrast with her snow white hair.

"Wow, Rach," Wonder Woman began as she looked up and down at the Halfa, "You look…cute."

Beacon raised an eyebrow at the Amazon. "Uh, thanks…" Then she tugged at her clothes when the boys looked curiously. "Guardian cadet uniform; standard-issue."

"What happened?" asked Superman, and then he eyed Beacon's face. "Your scar's gone."

Beacon felt around her left eye with her fingers, and sure enough, the line that had been etched on her face had disappeared. "Morgaine's magic must've done more than just de-aged us; it's made us how we were when we were eight years old." Beacon stared at her hands as she opened and closed them, as if she was trying to get blood to flow back into them.

"Rach?" asked Wonder Woman. "Are you okay?"

Beacon looked at her, and smiled. "Yeah, just feeling a little nostalgic, that's all."

As Wonder Woman smiled back and placed a hand on the Halfa shoulder, Batman turned to Green Lantern, who was squinting.

"What's the matter?" asked the Dark Knight.

"I wore glasses as a kid," explain Lantern, "guess I need 'em again." As he spoke, a pair of thick-rimmed glasses appeared in front of his eyes. "Wow! I didn't even try to make these!"

"I hope not," snorted Batman, as Superman tried to refrain from laughing. Even Beacon giggled a little. Green Lantern concentrated until his goofy glasses became a much more stylish mask.

"Cool," complimented Superman.

"Would you stop messing around?" asked Wonder Woman as she slapped the Kryptonian upside the head, "We gotta find Mordred!"

"Bet the little punk's in there," said Batman, pointing to the castle.

"Yeah, I think you're right," agreed Beacon, "he did grow up in medieval times. So it makes sense for him to want to live in a castle." The heroes exchanged looks, and then nodded to each other. "Anyway…" The Halfa grinned as she hovered a few inches off the ground, making the other heroes look at her in confusion. "Race ya!" Without another word, she sped off towards the castle, blowing up dust into the other heroes faces. After waving their hands to clear the dust, the other heroes followed the ghost-girl.

Beacon flew across the drawbridge over the moat; where she landed right in front of the giant entrance to the castle. She turned around to see Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern land behind her, and a couple of seconds later, Batman met up with them, breathing very heavily.

"It's…" the Dark Knight panted, "… _not_…a race."

"Yeah," Green Lantern agreed with narrowed eyes, "and even if it was, you didn't even give us a chance."

Beacon smirked as she rolled her eyes. "Come on," she drawn out the words. "We got a king to dethrone."

"I am on it!" Superman exclaimed enthusiastically. The other heroes stepped back as he approached the door. Then he drew back his fist and knocked the door open. There, they saw Mordred, surround by children. The immortal self-proclaimed king blinked at them in shock, but then burst into laughter.

"The Justice Babies!" Ha!"

Batman glowered at Mordred. "What are you laughing at, precious?"

"You. Mother sent you, huh?" Mordred sneered when he ceased laughing. "She shouldn't send a boy to do a man's job!"

"You do realize that there are two girls here, right?" Beacon barked. Mordred ignored her and grasped the amulet around his neck, as it glowed; the amulet sent a wave of purple energy at the action figures held in a boy's arms. The toys levitated out of his hands and began to grow in size, until they were about twenty feet tall.

* * *

The surrounding kids scattered out of the castle as fast as they could. The heroes however just stood there in shock for a moment, and then leaped into action. Superman charged at a red figure with a spiked mace, but was slammed aside into another figure with a giant hammer. Superman bounced off the giant's chest and crashed to the ground. The Man of Steel looked back to see the figure raise its hammer, preparing to crush him. Fortunately before it could, Green Lantern swooped in and blasted him with a beam of energy. The robotic figure turned to Lantern, and decided to give chase to this new opponent.

Batman attempted to attack Mordred head-on, but was cut off by a thin, purple Cyclops with large claws. He jumped over the monstrous figure's swing and got passed it by running up its arm, and jumping over its head. Then he launched a grapple at Mordred, who ducked just in time. Instead of hitting him, the grapple hit his throne.

"Ha!" the child sorcerer boasted with a wicked smirk.

Batman ignored him and pulled the line of his grapple towards him, knocking the throne on top of Mordred. This was short-lived, however, when the throne was blasted backwards, revealing a very livid Mordred floating in the air. He raised his arms and sent a pair of energy blasts at Batman, who dove out of the way. The magic struck the monster behind him, and after blinking in and out a few times. The creature vanished in a flash of purple sparks.

Beacon shot an energy blast at her opponent, a black figure in armor with a giant sword. The energy blast hit the figure in the chest, but there wasn't even a hint of a scratch in it. The Halfa blinked for a second before raising her other arm; firing two energy beams simultaneously. This time, the figure's armor was dented and smoking slightly, but overall, it just kept on walking towards her. Beacon stared into her glowing hands.

"Great…" was all the escaped her throat as she swerved away from the figure's sword swing. The Halfa decided that if energy blasts aren't going to work, she'll need a different tactic. She turned intangible as her opponent swung its weapon downward, the Halfa merely floated in place as she phased through the sword. Then she flew up right in front of the giant's face, and put her hand to the figure's forehead.

Beacon concentrated as she made its head intangible, and then she pulled the figure's head out of its body. The now headless body jerked slightly as sparks flew out of the frayed wires around its neck, and then finally, it fell limply to the ground. With a satisfied smile, the Halfa dropped her former opponent's head, and flew off to help the others.

Green Lantern flew up and down throughout the castle while dodging his opponent's hammer strikes at the same time. However he was having trouble deciding how to finish it.

"I'll make a laser cannon!" he rambled, "No, a missile launcher! Oh! Oh! I know!"

"Just pick something!" barked Batman.

Finally turning around to face his opponent, Lantern created a large green boxing glove, and sent the figure flying into the wall, smashing it into pieces.

* * *

In the meantime, Superman was able defeat his enemy with a blast of heat-vision. Wonder Woman however, was having much more difficultly. Her opponent, a malevolent-looking figure with a large spear, had pinned her to a pillar, its spear only stopped because of the Amazon's metal bracelets. Sadly, this left her unable to counterattack. Luckily, Batman jumped onto its head, and tried to stab it with a batarang, but the attack didn't penetrate its thick metal cranium. The figure reached up and grabbed Batman by the cape, who still tried to attack it by flailing his arms and legs.

Seeing her friend in trouble, Wonder Woman rushed forward and punched the figure's knee with all the strength she could muster. Cracks began to spread throughout its body, and then it shattered. Batman fell to the ground, but was caught by the Amazon.

"You okay, tough guy?" she asked with a smile.

"Let go, I'm fine!" Batman squirmed out of Wonder Woman's arms, and then sulked off. Wonder Woman watched him go with a small pout.

With their battles won, the heroes gathered together again in front of Mordred.

"That's not fair!" he jeered loudly.

Beacon pointed a finger at him. "Too bad buddy!" she exclaimed. "You're going down!"

"Get him!" Batman barked. All the heroes charged forward.

Mordred raised his hand, and all of the heroes were encased in ice, the flyers fell to the ground and sled for a few feet.

"Playtime is over," declared the sorcerer as he grabbed the amulet, making it glow again, "you will share the fate of all my enemies: _execution_."

* * *

The tiles on the floor began to disappear, leaving a hole where they used to be. When enough tiles have disappeared, the heroes fell into a dungeon below, and when they struck the ground, the ice that held them shattered. Superman was the first to recover and tried to fly back up, but Mordred created a web of magical energy that sent electricity through the Man of Steel's body when he made contact with it, and then it sent him crashing back to the ground. Beacon was the next one up to bat; she soared upwards and turned intangible, confident that she would be able phase through the barrier. Just as she was about a foot or two from reaching it however, the Halfa felt a tangling feeling in the pit of her stomach as her blue rings reappeared, turning her back into a human.

"Uh-oh…" then she screamed as she fell back into the dungeon. She was saved when Lantern created a giant glowing green baseball glove from his ring. "Ugh, thanks." She groaned, clutching her head. Then the Halfa looked up to the barrier in the ceiling. "Man, I was afraid of that."

"What happened?" asked Wonder Woman after she helped the Halfa off of the pillow. Once again, unlike her older self, Rachel now spotted a blue buttoned-up cardigan over a white shirt, a pair of jeans, and silver sneakers. Her hair was in the same pigtails as her ghost form, except the bows were now white.

Rachel turned to the Amazon. "Well, I-"

* * *

The heroes turned their attention to one of the gates in the dungeon that had just opened, revealing a pair of glowing, red eyes. From the shadows stepped a very small, yellow monster with fangs on his upper and lower jaw, and fan-shaped ears. He wore a red suit, with a purple cape. He was eyeing the heroes with murderous intent.

"What did he do to the demon?" questioned Green Lantern.

"Etrigan?" asked Batman. The pint-sized demon said nothing; instead he blew a stream of fire at the heroes. Wonder Woman grabbed Batman and pull him to safety, while Rachel dove behind a shield created by Green Lantern for cover.

Before Etrigan could overwhelm Lantern's shield, Superman flew forward and grabbed the little demon.

"Don't hurt him!" yelled Batman. Superman eyed the Dark Knight curiously when Etrigan opened his mouth and chomped down on Kryptonian's arm. Since Etrigan was a magical being, his fangs were able to pierce his normally-indestructible skin.

"Ow! Tell him that!" Superman shook his arm, launching Etrigan across the dungeon. The demon, in turn blew a fireball into Superman's face.

Green Lantern tried to put to Etrigan in a cage, but he simply climbed out of it. The demon slammed head first into Lantern, knocking the hero off his feet. Then Etrigan leapt into the air, trying to crush Lantern. Luckily the hero was able to create a bubble to protect himself. Before Etrigan could penetrate the shield, Batman flung his cape over Etrigan's face.

"Etrigan," Batman grunted as he tried to restrain him, "cut it out!"

The demon didn't comply, grabbing the cape and throwing Batman over his head and onto the Detective's back. As the demon stood over the fallen hero, two voices barked behind him.

"Etrigan!"

"You stop right there! I mean it!"

Etrigan turned to see Rachel and Wonder Woman standing there with arms crossed and hands on hips respectively. The Amazon leaned in closer to the demon.

"You naughty monster!" she scolded as she waved a finger at him, "Bad, bad Etrigan!"

Seeing the Amazon and the Halfa's angry faces made tears well up in Etrigan's eyes, and then he began to cry.

The two girls widened their eyes as they exchanged looks with one another. Then Wonder Woman scooped up the crying demon, and rocked him in her arms. "Hey, little guy, it's okay." The Amazon cooed. "We won't hurt you."

"You know," Rachel added as she rubbed Etrigan's head, in which the demon made a happy gargle sound. "He's actually kind of cute."

Batman rolled over. "You've got to be kidding."

"He's just a baby." Wonder Woman patted Etrigan's back until he burped a small ball of fire. "That's all he needed."

Green Lantern sniffed the air, then his face twisted with disgust. "Aw, man!" he bellowed as he waved at the air. "That ain't all he needs."

Batman slowly strolled backwards. "Now _that _is a job for Superman."

"I'm gonna punch our way out of here." Green Lantern suggested, and then ran off after Batman.

Wonder Woman handed Etrigan to Superman. "I'll help."

Superman looked at Rachel with quivering eyes.

Rachel shook her head. "Give him here." She sighed.

With the widest grin possible, Superman wasted no time passing the demon over into the Halfa's arms. "Thanks, I owe you one!" He then flew off the meet up with the others.

"Yeah, yeah." Rachel muttered exasperatedly, as she took a sniff and held the smelly Etrigan as far away as her arms could stretch.

* * *

As the heroes worked their way out of the dungeon, Wonder Woman turned to Rachel.

"So, what happened back there, Rach?" she asked. "Why'd you lose your powers?"

The Halfa stared at the Amazon, and then at the baby demon in her arms. The latter gave her a hint of a shrug.

"Normally, when Halfas reach the age of eight, that's when they start gaining the use of their powers." Rachel began. The other's turned their heads to look at the two girls, wanting to hear Rachel's explanation. "Thing is, at that age; those powers are very difficult to control. That's why I turned back into a human even though it was the last thing I wanted."

Wonder Woman nodded as Superman spoke up. "So, how long did it take you to control you powers?"

Rachel thought for a moment. "About a year, that's one of the reasons why I went into the Guardian program; they know how to develop a Halfa's powers better than almost anyone, but ultimately it varies from person to person. Take my cousin Robin for example; he was able to get full control of his powers in about six months, even though he got his powers _after_ me."

Superman whistled. "Cool," and then he turned back to face the front.

"But there's one more thing." Rachel said. The others looked back at her. "I'm a lot weaker than I was before, and I don't have duplication or my sensory."

"I think it's safe to say with our bodies the way they are," replied Batman. "We all feel a lot weaker than our older selves."

"Yeah," Wonder Woman agreed as she put an arm on the Halfa's shoulder, "don't worry about it, we'll do just fine if we all work together."

Rachel smiled at her friends, and nodded.

* * *

A few hours later, the heroes made their way to the square just outside the castle. The scene wasn't pretty; there were children running amuck, fighting with each other, and making a mess of the whole area. Rachel stayed behind to look after Etrigan while the other tried to control the situation. They decided that seeing a demon won't exactly calm the kids down.

Superman looked over at two kids fighting with wooden swords. "You two," he pointed a finger at them, "knock it off!"

"What are you going to do?" retorted one of the kids smugly. "You're just a kid." Then both of them jumped back as two laser beams scorched a line in the ground in front of them.

"I'm the kid with laser beams coming out of his eyes." Superman growled. The kids' mouths dropped to the floor as they exchanged looks with each other, and then they ran away in fear.

Wonder Woman floated to the center of the square. Her eyebrow twitching as she witnessed the chaos in front of her.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" She yelled out when she could no longer bear it.

Her voice was so loud; all the other children instantly stopped what they were and looked at the Amazon. Even Rachel and Etrigan, who were in an alley a few blocks away, heard her projected voice. The baby demon made a small whimper as he snuggled closer to the Halfa.

"There, there," she said calmly as she held the demon. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

As the children stared at Wonder Woman, a small girl said, "You can't tell us what to do! You're not our mom!"

Wonder Woman glared at her. "No, but I promise you, we will find all your moms." She turned her glare to all the other children. "And I'm gonna tell!"

_Ohhh, she played the 'trump card'. _Rachel thought as she chuckled. Upon seeing the Halfa laughing, Etrigan laughed as well.

"W-well, what should we do?" asked the little girl in a lot lower voice.

"Go outside and wait for your parents." She commanded, and then pointed in a general direction. "NOW!"

The other children groaned as they all slowly left the park. Finally, Rachel regrouped with the others heroes with the square was deserted. She noticed Wonder Woman walk up to Batman, place a hand on her hip and grin brightly. The Halfa smirked while Batman and Green Lantern both widened their eyes. Superman however, remained expressionless; because apparently he didn't notice any of it.

"Your girlfriend sure is bossy." Lantern remarked.

"Shut up," Batman snapped, and then stalked off.

"So those two have a history, huh?" asked Rachel.

"Oh, without a doubt; Bats just won't admit it. It's really sad."

* * *

The heroes made into their way to where Mordred was stealthily. Even though there wasn't much need for it. There weren't any guards to avoid; Mordred must've thought they were dead. The heroes saw the self-proclaimed king sleeping on the lounge chair; to make things better, he had a pair of headphones covering his ears.

"We can take him," whispered Wonder Woman.

"I'll make a giant lawnmower and chew him up!" suggested Green Lantern. The other heroes all raised an eyebrow at him for a moment.

"I say we get that amulet away from him first," Batman turned to Rachel, "Your powers working yet?"

"Give me a second." Rachel replied as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then her irises turned blue as her rings turned her back into Beacon. "I'm good." She gave them the "thumbs up"

"Alright," said Batman. He knelt down and drew a circle and then an X in the dirt. "While Beacon takes the amulet away, we'll split and sneak behind him." He drew two curved lines that lead to the X. "After that, should be able to stop him." He looked at Green Lantern. "But _no _mowers."

"Why?" asked Lantern.

"Because it's stupid." Superman answered.

"I guess I'll go with Clark." Proposed Wonder Woman. Then a crafty look came over her face as she looked at Batman. "Unless I should go with you."

"Whatever," the Dark Knight replied coolly.

"I'm fine to go with Diana," interjected Clark.

"So Bruce and I are good to go?" asked Green Lantern.

"I changed my mind," said Wonder Woman, "I'll go with Bruce, and John can go with Clark."

"_Whatever._" Repeated Batman as Wonder Woman grabbed his arm and pulled him off.

"What's with them?" asked Superman, completely clueless.

"Man, for somebody with, like, 50 different kinds of vision," Lantern said as he floated in the air, "You are so blind." Then he took off.

"Yeah," Beacon added as she too flew off, "and don't even get me started on the whole 'Lois' thing'."

Superman floated there for a second. "What?" he pondered, still none-the-wiser.

* * *

As the original Leaguers moved into position, Beacon flew invisible towards the sleeping sorcerer. Once she got up above him, the Halfa slowly reached for the amulet.

"Whatcha doin'?" Superman and Green Lantern, who was hiding behind a set of armor, jumped as they turned to see a little girl behind them. Even though she knew that little girl wasn't addressing her, Beacon was so focused on her task; that hearing the voice startled her too. The Halfa dropped the amulet on Mordred's chest, making him stir.

"Get the amulet!" barked Batman.

As he sat upright on his lounge chair, Beacon rushed in and tackled Mordred to the ground, swiftly followed by Superman, Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Batman. All the heroes worked together to keep Mordred pinned to the ground.

"Keep him down!" yelled Batman, "He's just a little kid!"

Batman's words seemed to infuriate Mordred, as his eyes began to glow, and his body began to enlarge.

"Man, I hate magic!" grumbled Green Lantern, as he and the others were thrown off.

"Now who's little?" boasted Mordred, whose voice is now amplified. He brought his giant foot down at Superman and the little girl. Luckily, Superman was fast enough to grab to her and fly out of the way.

The heroes wasted no time getting back to their feet, and flying off. Batman got into the air with the help of Green Lantern, who made a willpower-generated surfboard.

They didn't get far before Mordred taunted at them. "Yes, that's right! Run away, you little _pipsqueaks_!"

Beacon came to a dead stop in midair, and then looked back at the sorcerer. Her teeth were clinched and her face was contorted with rage.

"Beacon?" asked Wonder Woman.

The Halfa didn't respond as she blasted back towards Mordred. With her hands glowing with energy, she slammed right into his chest.

"Oof!" the sorcerer exclaimed as he fell to the ground, creating a large shockwave.

"Don't _ever _call me 'pipsqueak'!" Beacon yelled with a foul glare.

"Beacon!" the Halfa turned back to see Batman yelling at her. "Let's go!"

* * *

With one last look of contempt at the writhing Mordred, Beacon flew off to rejoin her fellow heroes. What she didn't notice however, was that the sorcerer had sat back up, and fired a blast of magic from his eyes. The blast hit two stone dragons that made them come to life. The dragons screeched loudly as they spread their wings, and then took off after the heroes.

Before Wonder Woman could react, one of the stone dragons swooped in and grabbed her by the shoulders. She tried with all her strength to break the monster's hold, but found that she couldn't.

Seeing that her friend needed help, Beacon landed on top of the dragon's head and covered its eyes with her hands. The dragon screeched and flailed its head in an attempt to throw the Halfa off of it. Wonder Woman took this opportunity and threw her magic lasso around the dragon's jaw; she used her super-strength to hurl the monster off her, and then flew forward and shattered the stone dragon with a mighty punch. Beacon and Wonder Woman watched as the rumble fell toward the ground, then with wide grins, the two girls high-fived each other.

The two made it back to the castle, where Superman and the little girl were waiting. They all turned to see Green Lantern and Batman rushing towards them with the giant Mordred hot on their heels. They all made their way into the castle, before barricading the doors shut.

"Come out of my castle!" Mordred boomed. "Your king commands it!" he then proceeded to ram his shoulder into the doors.

* * *

The heroes gathered together, trying to come up with a new strategy.

"I got a plan," announced Green Lantern enthusiastically, "I'll make some giant handcuffs and…"

"Forget it." Batman interrupted, "We've gotta focus on…" upon seeing Lantern's disappointed face, he reconsidered. "Never mind what I just said, we'll take care of everything else; Lantern, you crazy." This brought a smile to Lantern's face.

Mordred was finally able to break through the barricade to his castle. However, he eyes his throne room curiously when he saw that it was empty.

"Hey, junior!"

Mordred whirled around when he heard the voice call him out, and found a giant green battle suit, almost equal to him in size, piloting it was Green Lantern.

"How about picking on somebody your own size?"

A devilish smile appeared on Mordred's face as he cracked his knuckles. "You're so dead."

Narrowing his eyes, Lantern created missile launchers on his suit's shoulders, firing a barrage at the self-proclaimed king. Mordred however, didn't even flinch. When the smoke from the explosion cleared, Mordred was completely unharmed, but his appearance had changed. He was now wearing a suit of medieval armor and holding giant poleax. Smirking, the sorcerer charged. Lantern tried to slow him down by shooting him with the cannon on his suit's arm, but that too proved useless. The axe penetrated right through the stomach of Lantern's suit, knocking it to the ground and pinning the hero there.

As the willpower construct vanished, Mordred asked sadistically, "Thought you could beat me in the piece of junk?"

Lantern expressed a smirk of his own. "Wasn't really trying."

Mordred felt something tug around his neck, and saw Superman trying to pull off his amulet. "Treachery!" he yelled.

As Superman successfully yanked off the amulet, he was grabbed by Mordred. Unable to break free, Superman tossed it to Batman. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get far either, as Mordred caught him with his other hand. He quickly threw it to Wonder Woman, who ran as fast as she could to a cluster of rocks. Mordred sent a blast of magic from his eyes, pulling the Amazon towards him.

At the last possible second, she threw the amulet to the rocks, where it suddenly stopped in midair. The amulet floated for a moment before Beacon revealed herself. She looked at the amulet, and then turned her eyes to the sorcerer with devious smirk on her face.

"_Don't you dare._" Mordred snarled through gritted teeth.

"Dare what?" The Half replied shrewdly, "This?" Her hands glowed blue, causing the amulet in her hand to vibrate viciously. There was a blinding flash of white light as the magical item shattered into tiny pieces.

"NO!" Mordred shouted as he began to shrink back to his normal size. This gave the heroes trapped in his grasp time to escape.

* * *

Unfortunately, the force with so powerful; it blasted Beacon back toward the earth. After bouncing painfully off the ground, the Halfa lied there as she turned back into a human. Her vision blurred in and out of focus as she saw the others huddle around her.

"Ugh, did we win?" Rachel asked tiredly.

After the others had exchanged looks, Wonder Woman extended a hand and pulled Rachel to her feet. Then all of them, even baby Etrigan, grinned at one another.

"Nice try," came Mordred's voice. The heroes turned to see him getting back to his feet, his armor smoking, but other than that, he seemed relatively unharmed. "but I've already absorbed too much of the amulet's power."

The six heroes felt themselves being pulled into the air and held upside-down. Mordred raised the broad sword he was holding, and used his magic to transform it into a more sinister looking, and curvilinear one.

"Now," he said as he directed the sword towards the heroes, "I'll take care of my kingly duty myself." But before he walked towards them, he turned when he noticed the little girl from earlier get in his way.

"What?" Mordred asked.

"I'm scared," the girl cried, "I want my mommy."

"You don't need a mummy," informed Mordred, "you're better off without one; trust me."

The girl's whimper began louder, and then she started to cry.

"Stop it," demanded Mordred, "Stop it!"

"Oh way to go, your _Majesty!_" exclaimed Rachel.

"Some king," commented Superman sarcastically.

"I'm not impressed," said Wonder Woman.

"What'd you expected?" questioned Batman, "He's a boy, doing a man's job."

"You don't know what it's like," Mordred blurted out, walking up to the dangling heroes, "being stuck as a kid."

"Since you got all that power, you could've been a man any time you wanted." Batman smirked, "I'll bet you're too chicken to grow up."

"Yep," Green Lantern chimed in, "big chicken, that's what you are."

"You know what?" added Rachel, "I think you actually _like _being a little momma's boy."

Mordred's face twisted in a fit of rage. "I'll show you," he yelled, "I'll show you all!" In a flash of purple light, the boy disappeared. In his place stood a tall, muscular young man who looked about in his early twenties. "I'm older than you now." He boasted in slightly deeper voice.

"You _sure_ are." The Dark Knight agreed; the smirk still etched on his face.

Mordred's eyes widened as his began to disappear. "Wait, what? No!" In a few seconds, he disappeared entirely. With the sorcerer gone, the heroes felt the magic suspending them wear off; they landed on their feet and walked to the spot where Mordred just stood.

* * *

**Alternate dimension**

Mordred looked around at the dimension where he'd sent the adults to. Now he was tricked into sending himself into his own prison.

"They cheated!" he jeered, "After I fix this, they're toast!" he flexed his muscles in an attempt to summon his magic, but nothing happened. "What's wrong with me, Where's my power?"

"You've used it all." came a grim voice from behind him. He turned to see his mother, Morgaine Le Fey. "Don't you realize what you've done?"

"What?" he demanded as he approached his mother, panic creeping up on his face. "WHAT!?"

* * *

**Earth**

Mordred's spell began to wear off across the world, and adults reunited with the children that missed them. Anything in reality that Mordred had changed was reversed, and the world began to return to normal.

Over at the amusement park, Morgaine Le Fey appeared before the six members of the Justice League.

"A bargain is a bargain." She said simply. Then with a wave of green energy, the Leaguers were returned to their rightful ages. Rachel looked down at her body as she turned back into a ghost, and sure enough, her tracksuit was replaced by her usual skirt and jacket. Wonder Woman, who had been holding the baby Etrigan, looked down to see the adult version of the demon.

"Mommy." He cooed. Wonder Woman groaned in disgust and instantly dropped him on the ground.

Without another word, Le Fey turned her back to them and created a magic portal.

"Wait," said Batman, "what happened to Mordred?"

"My spell granted him eternal youth," explained Le Fey as she turned to face the Dark Knight, "but now that he's broken it, all he has is eternal life." Without another glance at the other heroes, the sorceress walked through the portal, which then vanished. Somehow her parting words made Beacon shudder.

Batman's eyes narrowed as he looked out at the happy families that were being reunited.

"Circumstances aside," said Wonder Woman as she walked up from behind him, "it was kind of… enjoyable to be a kid again."

Batman didn't even look at her as he replied. "I haven't been a kid since I was eight years old." The other Leaguers frowned, understanding the Dark Knight's meaning, and then, the heroes all silently left the park.

* * *

**Stone castle: near some mountain region.**

The rain poured down and lightning flash around the dimly lit castle as she approached a plush arm chair in front of the fire place.

"Did you miss mommy?" asked Morgaine Le Fey.

The sorceress grab a hand towel from a nearby table, and leaned to the figure slouched in the chair. The feeble old man simply sat there unresponsive as Le Fey wiped the drool pooling out of him open mouth.

"Don't you worry, baby." Le Fey told him in a soft voice. "Mommy's going to take good care of you… _From now on._"

* * *

**Another chapter in finished. This one got me thinking about how Rachel would've been when she first started out into the hero business, and I hope you guys enjoyed what I've come up with. **

**Now I would like to apologize if Rachel and Kara's relationship, or soon-to-be relationship makes any of you uncomfortable. I just thought it would be interesting and fun to ship them together. **

**And to Inviso-Al: I must applaud you for asking all the correct questions, and to answer you previous one: yes there will be more characters for the DP universe. As to who they will be, well you'll just have to stay tuned to find out. **

**With all that said and done; thank you all for reading, and as always: I will see you all next time!**


	9. Chapter 8

**I don't own DC or DP.**

**WOW! 3000 views! I want to thank you all for reading this! Words cannot express how grateful I am.**

**Now without further ado… Let's get on with it.**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 8

The middle-age man known as Gilbert Halstrom stumbled as he ran for his life through the streets of nighttime Metropolis. His hunter was nowhere in sight, but he knew this was only wishful thinking; nothing could stop who was following him. He stopped in front of a building and jiggled the doorknob frantically, but the door wouldn't open no matter how hard he tried. Before he could try to force his way in, two red beams struck the doorknob, turning the once solid metal into a red molten puddle. The man turned and gasped in fear as his pursuer landed right in front of him. Her face was twisted in a merciless smirk and her blue eyes were unyielding.

"What's with the running, Doc?" asked Supergirl in a low, ruthless manner, "We both know how this is gonna turn out."

"I didn't tell anyone!" said the man as he slowly back stepped to distance himself from the Kryptonian. However, his retreat was halted when he felt the cold metal of the door make contact with his back. "I swear!"

"Good," Supergirl's lips arched even higher than before, "then you're the only loose end." She raised an eyebrow when she heard the cocking sound coming from behind her. When she spun around, she saw a flash of green light speed past her, and then felt an intense burn on her arm. Judging from the pain, the shot of energy must have been Kryptonite-based.

Supergirl eyed her wound angrily, and then glared at the people responsible. While her prey bolted away from the scene, she vanished in a blur faster than the human eye could detect, reappearing moments later in front of one of the gunmen's sights. The sniper in question barely had time to take in what his was looking at before his rifle was yanked from his hands and had his face smashed with it. The other gunman standing on another roof quickly worked to get another shot off, but Supergirl lifted the previous man over her head and thrown him into his fellow ambusher.

More shots rained down upon Supergirl's location, narrowly missing the Girl of Steel. She jerked her head up to see three more gunmen flying towards her with jetpacks, all of them firing their weapons freely down at her. Supergirl took to the air, effortlessly avoiding the blasts of Kryptonite. Flying down through the city streets, Supergirl aimed her hear-vision and sliced off a piece of building, the piece smashed onto one of the flying gunmen, taking him out of the equation.

Supergirl flew lower to the streets, causing dust and debris to blow into the air, while her followers loomed ever closer. She blasted an oncoming car with her heat-vision in an attempt to halt their pursuit, but the men simply swerved out of the debris' way. Trying a different tactic, she flew behind a billboard and ripped it out of the hinges that secured it to the building. Holding it above her head, she slammed it down onto the remaining two men.

While brushing the dust of her hands, she turned when she heard towards the sound of the rapid breathing and pounding footsteps that belonged to her original target. In no time, she caught up with the middle-aged man at a laboratory. After smashing the solid-steel double doors, the Girl of Steel brushed her hair behind her ear and stormed inside.

She moved throughout the room when a set of doors opened, revealing a rover-like robot with various sharp tools, and a large syringe-like apparatus. The machine gave Supergirl no time to react as it used one of its clamps to grab her arm, and slam her against a wall. As she tried to free her arm, the machine's saw-blade whirred into life and extended towards her. She was just able to stop it with her other arm before it sliced her throat open. She ripped off the saw, just in time to stop the syringe from piercing her body. The syringe was close enough for her to see the bright green point.

Using the power in her legs, she pushed the robot away from her, while at the same time; she ripped off its clamp. The machine flew across the room, shattering both it and the wall into pieces. After taking a moment to catch her breath, she noticed Halstrom's head peering out of the hole in the wall.

The man was absolutely shaking his entire being as Supergirl approached him. "You can scream now, if you want." She muttered was a sadistic grin, as her eyes glowed red.

The man's scream could be heard throughout the night, while hundreds of miles away, another scream was heard. Kara ripped off her blankets and sat bolt upright on her bed, trembling as the cold sweat ran down her face. She gasped for breath as she took in her surroundings. Her breathing steadied slightly when she realized that she was in her room in the Kent house, and not Metropolis, but this did little to set her at ease, why did she keep getting these dreams? What could was the purpose behind them? She pulled her knees to her chest when she heard the sound of smothering above her.

She looked up to see two holes in the ceiling, freshly burned by heat vision.

* * *

**Watchtower: conference room**

Supergirl sat down on the table opposite the Martian Manhunter. The latter had spent the past few hours examining her mind, trying to find the meaning behind her recent nightmares.

"Hmm, I've never fully understood the mechanics of dreams, "he began, "I don't have them myself."

"Well, this one's doing a number on my ceiling," Supergirl rubbed her fingers sheepishly, "and Pa Kent's getting tired of patching it."

"I will say this," the Martian stated as he stood up from his chair, "What I saw was far more linear than ordinary dream-logic, but it didn't seem like a memory, either. It was inconclusive."

Supergirl widened her eyes as she looked at him. "You mean I may have actually done these things?" The possibility that she may have been responsible in _killing _someone, or perhaps multiple people, was absolutely horrifying.

"I'm sorry," said J'onn grimly, "I just don't know."

A woman's voice from a nearby communication screen lit up. "J'onn, President ChoJeb is on Line One."

J'onn turned back to Supergirl. "I'm going to put you on the Inactive Roster for a few days. Let me know what you find." With that, the Martian exited the room, leaving Kara standing there to sulk.

* * *

Supergirl walked solemnly to the cafeteria, where she sat down at a table with Green Arrow and Beacon. When the Halfa saw the expression on her friend's face, she forgot all about her appetite.

"Kara, what's the matter?" asked Beacon, concern etched in every word.

Supergirl took a deep breath, and then explained what had happened during the past few nights, and what J'onn had told her in the conference room. When she finished, Beacon pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Kara, I'm so sorry," she said when they separated. "I hope you're okay." Beacon could understand, at least in part of what Supergirl was going through; even though it's been nearly half a year, her nightmares still persisted, though they were less frequent, and they hardly ever woke her up anymore. Still, it pained her to see Kara go through the dread of awful nightmares.

"What's the big deal?' shrugged Green Arrow, "You had some nightmares."

Beacon glared at the archer for his insensitivity

"These weren't just dreams," assured Supergirl, "they felt like they really happened."

"I don't know. I've had some dreams that felt mighty real." Arrow turned to see Black Canary sitting across the room, typing on a laptop. "There was this one the other night…"

"Arrow! We're over here!" Beacon barked as she snapped her fingers at the ogling man, snapping him back to the two girls sitting next to him.

"The point is that I couldn't live with myself if I really did what I saw." Supergirl looked between her friends. "Now, are the two of you gonna help me or not?"

"Do you even have to ask, Kara? _Of course _I'll help you." Beacon replied almost immediately. Supergirl grinned at her gratefully.

"Count me in," added Green Arrow, "but vague memories like one of those alien abductions things… Maybe you've just been hanging out in Kansas too long."

"Wouldn't be so sure," advised a new voice. The others turned to see a wearing a long blue trench coat, pants, black tie, blue fedora, and an orange shirt sit down at their table. His face was apparently covered by a mask that had no face. No eyes, no nose, and no mouth. No doubt this was the one known only as The Question. "Especially when _she_'s the alien." He finished by pointing at Supergirl.

Beacon and Supergirl exchanged curious looks as Question continued. "You've got all the signs of repressed memories." Question said to the Girl of Steel, "People dream what their minds don't want to remember; easier to convince themselves it's all bunk."

"Repressed memories?" repeated Beacon, "of what?"

"And when?" added Green Arrow.

"You've been to S.T.A.R Labs, treated for injuries there." The Question asked without looking at the Halfa. At least, he didn't appear to. Beacon couldn't tell one way or the other.

"Yeah," said Supergirl, "a few years ago when Superman was brainwashed and attacked the Earth. I got hurt and he took me S.T.A.R for help; I was in a coma for part of it."

"Meaning there's a gap in time you can't account for." Question reasoned, and then turned his head to face Arrow. "_That's _when."

"Okay, enough!" jabbed the Archer. He looked at the two younger heroes. "Don't listen to this guy, everything's conspiracies with him."

"Not conspiracies," the faceless hero corrected, "_conspiracy_, singular."

"_Whatever._" Arrow retorted.

"Guys," Beacon cut in, making the two men look at her. "While I don't believe for one second that Supergirl did any of the things in her nightmares, it's worth taking a closer look." She looked at Arrow, "and _any _lead is better that none."

The two men nodded. "Follow me." Question said as he got up and motion for them to walk with him.

As the heroes trekked down the hall of the Watchtower, Supergirl whispered to Beacon, "You really don't think I did it?"

Beacon looked firmly into her eyes. "No," she whispered back, "you'd never do those things, Kara. That's not who you are."

Supergirl gave her another heartfelt smile, which Beacon returned. Then she felt her face grow warm. Ever since that day, when Kara had kissed her, the interactions between the two had become somewhat distant and awkward. However whenever they'd make eye contact, both of their cheeks would turn red and they would quickly turn away from each other.

Her train of thought was halted when they arrived at Question's room. Every Leaguer had a room assigned to them on the Watchtower. Some of them stayed on the station full-time, and they needed a place to stay; others would stay in their rooms for convenience.

* * *

"Going back as far as ancient Egypt there've been a cabal of powerful individuals directing the course of human history," Question told the others as they studied a large board with pictures, scientific journals, and newspaper articles pinned to it, all of which are interconnected with strings, "but, the common man prefers to believe that they don't exist, and that aids their success."

The other three took a closer look at the connected issues on the wall. "Global warming," read Supergirl, "military upheavals in the third world, actors elected to public office?"

"The spread of coffee bars, germs outpacing antibiotics, and boy-bands?" read Green Arrow. "Come on, who would gain from all this?"

"Who indeed?" was Question's vague response.

The other heroes exchanged looks. "What does all this have to do with my dreams?" asked Supergirl.

"If I'm right, you're part of it; you're going to need my help. I'm going with you." The Question turned around and walked out of his room. The others followed him.

"Hold your horses," said Green Arrow as he caught up, "no one asked for more help. This whole trip might just prove that the kid shouldn't eat nachos before bed."

"Peanut-butter sandwiches." The Question stated matter-of-factly.

The others stared with wide eyes. "How did you… What? Do you go through my trash?!"

"_Please_," The Question seemed somewhat offended by the accusation, "I go through everyone's trash."

"So," Beacon turned to Green Arrow, sounding confused, "where did we find this guy?"

* * *

**S.T.A.R. Labs, Metropolis**

When the four heroes reach the laboratories, they were greeted by Professor Hamilton, a middle-aged man with dirty-blond hair and beard. He wore thick-rimmed glasses and a white lab coat. From what Beacon was told; Profession Hamilton had been a friend to both Supergirl and Superman for years, and had use his scientific expertise to help them on several occasions. After Supergirl had explained what had been happening, the professor brought them to a room in the facility's medical wing.

"This is where we treated you when were in your coma." Hamilton said in a calm, reassuring voice, gesturing to a high-tech operating table, "You were on life-support the whole time; I promise, you weren't running around on violent missions."

"Well then, Professor Hamilton," asked a skeptical Question, "maybe you can tell us why her memories led her here."

"I think I can explain that." Replied Hamilton, maintaining his calm demeanor, he then turned back to Supergirl. "You mentioned some sort of torture device."

"Yes." Supergirl confirmed.

"With robotic arms and a long probe in the center?" the Professor went on.

"Cut to the chase," said Arrow, "You say you've seen something like it?"

"In fact, I have." Hamilton walked across the room, and pressed a few buttons on a keypad.

A door next to the panel opened, and Superfirl gasped. "That's it." Even this machine was smaller than the one in her dream, it was identical!

"It's not torture device." Hamilton explained as the robot moved forward. "It's a surgical robot. It has a Kryptonite-tipped lance; it was the only way to operate on you, Supergirl. That robot saved your life."

The Professor turned his eyes to The Question. "As for the rest of your dream." He turned to Supergirl. "We humans are used to being vulnerable, but to you, surgery must have seemed terribly invasive. And powerless to defend yourself, it's possible your mind constructed a scenario of fighting back."

Supergirl looked down for a moment, and then nodded. After thanking Hamilton for his time, the heroes began to leave the lab.

"Professor Hamilton, may I make a suggestion?" asked Beacon before she walked out.

"What is it?" Hamilton asked curiously.

"If you want less traumatized patients," said the Halfa, "try designing something that doesn't look like it's used for torture."

Hamilton expressed a halfhearted grin. "Thank you for the input; I'll take that into consideration."

Beacon nodded and walked after her fellow heroes.

* * *

Outside of the labs, the heroes began talking amongst themselves.

"Well, I think that answered everything." Green Arrow said, looking satisfied.

"A little too well." commented The Question.

"Does everything have a sinister motive in your world?" asked the archer.

"Yours, too. You just don't know it." The Question retorted. Then Beacon and Supergirl both widened their eyes.

"Uh, guys?" Supergirl pointed to the three attack-helicopters fly towards them. The front chopper dropped a silver man-sized robot, where it tackled Supergirl to the ground. Before the others could react, a squadron of armed men began firing at them.

Green Arrow and Question dove behind boulders while Beacon fired energy blasts of her own, downing a few of the gunman. Meanwhile, Green Arrow took a cue from Question and fired a shot up into the air. The arrow exploded into a smokescreen; allowing the heroes to use it as cover while they took out more of the attackers. When the smoke cleared, Arrow fired an explosive arrow at the rotors of one of the landed helicopters, blowing it to shreds. Beacon fired a shot at another helicopter, disabling that one.

Supergirl kicked the robot off of her, causing it skid for a few yards. Then before it got back up, the Kryptonian rushed in and decapitated the robot with a vicious uppercut. The point of the robot's horseshoe-shape head embedded itself onto a rock.

"What was that about?" demanded Green Arrow as he surveyed the wreckage from the fight.

"What do you think?" asked Question as he walked away, "We're asking questions that somebody doesn't want answered."

"Oh learn a new tune already." Arrow quipped exasperatingly.

"I am starting to think he's right," admitted Supergirl as she clinched her fists. "That robot came after _me._ The rest of this was just… distraction."

"So now we need to figure out who those guys were and who sent them." Said Beacon firmly, the other two nodded.

"Standard Z8 Combat Trainer," analyzed Question as he walked back over to the three, holding the severed head of the robot.

"Like the ones we use," stated Green Arrow, "the League buys 'em in bulk."

"So?" asked Supergirl, not knowing where this was headed.

"So, who do we buy them from?" asked Question.

"The Army, I think…" Then the realization struck her. "Oh, wait a minute…"

"Another fun fact:" said Question, "the man who commissioned the Z8 Project? He's the same man who put you in the hospital."

"General Hardcastle?" questioned Supergirl, "He's retired now, isn't he?"

"Gone," corrected Question, "and hoping to be forgotten."

* * *

The trip to General Hardcastle's cabin in the woods took shorter than expected. The Question, at this point unsurprisingly, knew where he lived, and therefore was able to provide the coordinates. After a quick teleport from the Watchtower, the heroes walked up the porch, where Beacon raised her hand to knock on the door. However after one light tap; the door slowly swung open, revealing the dark interior where to only source of light was a dimly-lit fireplace. The heroes exchanged curious looks with one another.

"Figured someone'd come for someday," the heroes turned towards the husky voice as a bald elderly man turned on a lamp next to him. He eyed the heroes warningly as he aimed a high-tech looking pistol at Supergirl. "Only I thought they'd be from the other side. This weapon fires a projectile of Kryptonite pellets, suspended in a liquid-silicon core. Causes maximum scatter on impact; only gets one shot, but trust me, alien, it'll do the job."

Supergirl raised her hands as a gesture of peace. "We're not here to hurt you; we just have some questions."

Hardcastle just stared at her, unconvinced. "Sorry if I don't take your word for it; as I recall, your kind can be fickle." Supergirl widened her eyes as she anticipated the shot, but in a blur of motion, Beacon stood right in front of her, directly in the line of fire.

"Sir, please, we mean you no harm," Said the Halfa sincerely, "but if you pull that trigger, I assure you: you're going to have one _bad _day."

Silence filled the cabin for a moment as Hardcastle considered his options. This hesitation was enough for Question to sneak by, and knock the pistol out of his hand.

"Come on, be a good host," suggested Green Arrow, "and tell us a story."

* * *

After a few minutes, everyone waited patiently as Supergirl explained the situation. The other three stood on stand-by just in case Hardcastle tried anything.

"The Army shut me out after Superman invaded." The General spoke as he poked at the fireplace. "The feeling upstairs was that I failed when it counted most, so how could I lead again? I got the message and took early retirement."

He walked back to his chair and sat down. "The problem is I know too much. One of these days they'll decide to shut me up."

"Who will?" asked Supergirl, "What do you know?"

Hardcastle looked her firmly in the eye. "The military and big business have been in cahoots for decades. Top-secret stuff, experiments on metahumans, mutants and aliens; searching for new technologies, both for nation security and profit. That Volcana woman?" he meant the fire-themed villain that the League had fought several years back. "She was one of ours. Same as those freaks the Joker made up like playing cards."

"What does any of this have to do with Supergirl?" Beacon wondered.

"It has to do with _all _of them." The General remarked firmly. "Your little club up that spaceship? There's a file on every single one of you." He turned back to Supergirl. "But I don't know anything about these dreams of yours. If it is connected to these people, I've been kept out of the loop too long to know."

"And how do we find _these people_?" Question chimed in.

"You don't," said Hardcastle bluntly, "they find you."

* * *

The General didn't seem to have any more information to divulge, so the heroes politely left his home. Once they got back out on the porch. Beacon put a hand on Supergirl's shoulder as she turned to the other two.

"Does this mean the trail ends here?"

"Not necessarily," replied Question, "but I'll need some time to process this." He pressed the communicator in his ear. "Martian, pick us up." In a flash of light, the four heroes vacated the spot.

* * *

Inside the cabin, Hardcastle sat on his chair, staring into the fire. Boy, has he done it now. He'd revealed some very dangerous secrets, and of all people; he revealed to the heroes of _Justice_ _League_. They will undoubtedly be coming after him now. He needed a drink. He walked over to his mini-bar, and poured himself a glass of whiskey. Before he could bring the alcohol to his lips, the door opened again, and he let his irritation show.

"What? I told you everything I…" he turned to see a familiar, yet unfamiliar person standing there. "Supergirl?"

The young woman standing in his doorway wore a white, long-sleeved leotard with a gold belt that showed off her firm, defined legs. There was a hole in her leotard that revealed part of her cleavage. Her boots and gloves were the same color, and her blonde hair was cut short. Her looks matched that of the Kryptonian, except she looked about two or three years older.

"Yes," she responded as she stepped inside, "and no. My friends call me Tea. Are you a friend, General?"

Hardcastle's glass slipped out of his hand as he took in the woman in front of him. His career in the military has taught him how to identify a threat, and this tops all of them. He turned and rush for his Kryptonite pistol, but Tea destroyed with her heat-vision. The resulting blast scorched Hardcastle's hand. With a yell of pain, he fell onto his chair.

Tea walked up to him slowly, and then leaned in closer with her hands behind her back. "Guess that's a no." she said with a devilish grin.

* * *

**Watchtower**

A few hours had passed since their visit with Hardcastle, the four heroes were currently spending time in Question's room. After a little while, Supergirl dozed off on Question's desk, Beacon and Green Arrow were having a quiet conversation with each other, and Question just mutter to himself as he paced back and forth.

Suddenly Supergirl awoke with a gasp. Sheer terror etched on her face as she tried to regain her breath, she gasped again when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked into Beacon's blue eyes.

"It's okay, it's okay," assured the Halfa, "you just fell asleep."

"Excuse me if I bore you." Question stated coolly, not looking up from the pictures he was examining.

"Hey, lay off! Will ya?" barked Green Arrow.

"Hardcastle's gone." The others stared at Supergirl, who shrugged. "I just know."

Beacon gave Supergirl's shoulder a gentle squeeze. Supergirl turned to the Halfa, and put her hand on the other girl's; both of them grinned at each other.

The silence was broken when the communicator on desk activated. "Question?" the Martian's voice came through.

"Go ahead." Acknowledged Question.

"Look at your monitor; I'm patch through a live feed."

All four of the heroes looked at the computer screen next to the communicator; it showed a news report from a channel known as the Eagle Network, on the center of the screen showed a picture of a middle-aged man with graying hair.

"A scientist name Gibert Halstrom has been reported missing," continued J'onn, "He's from a biotech company called Nuvo-Gen." Halstrom's picture was enlarged until it took up the whole screen. "It's the man from Kara's dream."

"He really exists." Whispered Supergirl. "Or, did, anyway." She tightened her grip on Beacon's hand.

"And only one network had the story," stated Question.

"Now that's the first lead in this whole business I can wrap my head around." Green Arrow said confidently. "We go to Nuvo-Gen, we find out who this guy is."

"No." countered Question, "First we find the source of the report."

"What for?" questioned Arrow.

"Don't you know who owns the Eagle Network?" Question walked over and tapped his connections board. "The _real _owners?"

Green Arrow sighed as he pitched the bridge of his nose. "Look, why don't we split up; Kara, Beacon and I will go to Nuvo-Gen, and you can go wherever you want." As he moved to leave, he looked at the two girls. "Uh, you two coming?"

Beacon and Supergirl's eyes met at exactly the same time; The Halfa's hand was still on her shoulder, while Supergirl's hand was still gripping hers. Their cheeks flushed red as they let go of each other and rushed out the door. Green Arrow raised an eyebrow at the two before leaving himself.

* * *

Inside _the _steak-house was a reporter for the Eagle Network named Lasser. He was just about to walk out when he was stopped by another patron in the restaurant.

"Hey, Lasser!" the man said, "Saw that bit on the Eagle today; now _that's _reporting!"

"Thanks," Lasser replied in a rather arrogant tone, "you get home safe."

He started to leave again, but the man grabbed his arm. "The thing is, that Nuvo-Gen is real hush-hush kind of joint, and Halstrom didn't have no family to filed a Missing Person's report; between you and me, how'd you hear about this story?"

Lasser shrugged as he gently worked his arm free. "Good old-fashioned legwork Jerry; you should try it sometime." With that said, Lasser exited the restaurant.

Once outside he stepped into a taxi. "Commodore Hotel." The taxi drove off, but didn't get very far, only a couple of blocks before turning into an alley.

"Something wrong?" questioned Lasser.

"Gotta write up my fare report." The driver answered calmy as he started scribbling on a notepad. "What do you think of that corporate, prepackaged pop that kids like these days?"

"_Hate _it." Lasser replied with a mixture of a snort and a laugh.

"Mm-hm" The driver turned on the radio; a corporate, prepackaged song play at maximum volume, and yellow smoke began to spew from his jacket.

"Hey," exclaimed Lasser as he grabbed the driver's shoulder, "I just said…" he froze as the man's outfit turned blue and his face disappeared. He gasped when he realized the he was face to face with The Question. The faceless hero grabbed the front of his shirt as the reporter began to scream.

* * *

**Nuvo-Gen**

The night-watch security guard in the main lobby looked up when he heard the front door open. He grinned a little as the guard for the next shift walked up to the security booth. However his smile faded when he saw that his replacement was a muscular, blonde-haired man.

"Hi," said the man as he held out his hand. "Ollie. I'm filling in."

"What happened to Frank?" the guard asked curiously as he shook Ollie's hand.

"I heard some contest guy showed up at his door; got a free trip to Aruba!"

"Why him and not me?" The off-duty guard scoffed.

"Tell me about it. You have a good one!"

"Good cold one's more like it." The guard put keycard in the slot and opened the door, walking away without a backwards glance.

As the door began to close, Supergirl rushed in. "Free trip to Aruba?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"Had to send Frank somewhere; shame how he dropped his keycard, though."

"Great, now let's get a move on before they find out what we're up to." a voice said seemingly out of nowhere. Ollie jumped and squealed as he flung his lunchbox into the air when Beacon had become visible again, holding his bow and quiver of arrows on her shoulders.

Supergirl caught the lunchbox, while Ollie stood here panting and clutching his chest. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" he bellowed, "Give me those." He grabbed his equipment and stalked past the Halfa. Beacon and Supergirl snickered at the archer's embarrassment. After Arrow had changed into his costume, the heroes ran down the halls of the building until they reached to company record room. What they failed to notice, was the white-gloved hand slip a keycard through the slot from the outside.

* * *

**Elsewhere: Dark Alley**

"I never heard of Nuvo-Gen, or Halstrom until last night; this girl I've been seeing slipped it to me, said I could run with it." Lasser confessed as Question held him up close and personal.

"The girl," demanded the faceless hero, "tell me more."

"She's just a girl," admitted Lasser plainly, "blonder hair, blue eyes; real farmers-daughter type."

"And a handshake like a vice?" asked Question in a low tone.

"Y-yeah, really strong, how did you…"

"How long have you been seeing her?" Question interrupted.

"She have bad dreams?"

"More like tossing and turning."

"Can't sleep at night…" Question pondered.

A few seconds later, Lasser was thrown out of the taxi onto a pile of trash. The taxi's engine roared to life as Question sped out of the alley.

* * *

"Halstrom was getting drowned in emails from their legal department," Green Arrow said as he typed on one computer, while Supergirl sat at another, with Beacon beside her, leaning towards the screen. "Sounds like they were scared he was gonna blow the whistle on something. Doesn't say what."

After taking a closer look at another file, the archer sat back in amazement. "I don't believe this; that crazy old Hardcastle was right. These guys claim they're splicing heartier tomatoes, but they've really been experimenting with metahuman DNA."

"Not just any DNA," said Supergirl, her voice unsteady. Arrow turned to see Beacon's hand on her shoulder, both of them staring intently at the computer screen. "_My _DNA."

Green Arrow rushed over to see images and video clips of an older version of Supergirl. One of the clips showed her fighting a group of jetpack-wearing mercenaries.

"This folder was marked 'Metropolis Training Exercises'." Supergirl said, her voice becoming more shaky. "It's me."

"Um, a little more mature than you," commented Green Arrow when he saw the older-looking clone, "but I see you point."

"They cloned me." Supergirl realized grimly. "We must have some sort of psychic link; that's why I'm seeing things I didn't do.

"Of course! A clone! It's so obvious!" Supergirl and Green Arrow turned to Beacon. The Halfa had her hand pressed up against her forehead, as some revelation, unbeknownst to the other two, exploded in her head.

"What's obvious?" asked Green Arrow quickly.

"I can explain later." Beacon told them as she lowered her hand. "But right now we gotta..." She jerked head quickly to the door; just in time to see a silhouette run by. Without hesitation, she bolted out of the room. The others exchanged quick looks, and swiftly followed suit. The three heroes ran into a massive, empty room. The floor was covered in large purple, hexagonal plates. As they walked inside, the walls, ceiling, and floor lit up, and after a few seconds, they found themselves in nighttime Metropolis.

"What is this place?" asked Supergirl.

Beacon narrowed her eyes as her holographic interface activated. "We're inside a hologram chamber," the Halfa informed as she looked at Supergirl. "Hard-light constructs." she finished as her interface disappeared.

"Must be a training program." Arrow added.

"_My_ training program."

The heroes looked up to see the clone of Supergirl flying down towards them. After realizing who she was after, Beacon pushed Supergirl aside right before the clone to collided with her. The clone quickly turned around and floated in the air above them, her hands on her hands and her grin looking smug. Supergirl floated up to the same level as her counterpart.

"So, what do you think?" asked Galatea, as she spread her arms, "It's important that you like yourself, and I'm you; just accelerated a few extra years, plus better trained, and I have to say, a heck of a lot smarter."

"You lured us here." Supergirl accused, "After you lackeys couldn't get rid of me at S.T.A.R, you decided to deal with me yourself, on your home turf."

"It's like you're reading my mind," said Galatea, "which is actually the problem, and why you have to die." She cocked back her fist, but before she could throw her punch. Beacon blurred in between the two Kryptonians with her arms were spread out. Both Supergirl and her clone stared the Halfa curiously.

"Wait!" Beacon exclaimed. "We don't have to fight!"

"Rachel, what are you doing?!" Supergirl asked loudly.

Beacon floated closer to the clone, having seemingly ignored Supergirl. Galatea had since lowered her fist, but kept her firm glare on the ghost-girl.

"You don't have to do what they say," Beacon said. "You may be a clone, but you're your own person, and I know there's good in you."

When the clone narrowed her eyes, the Halfa held her hands up in peace. "Look, why don't you come with us? We can talk about this, and the League can figure out how to help you." Galatea widened her eyes, and Supergirl actually gasped.

"Rachel! What's gotten into you?" Supergirl demanded. "Don't you know what she did?"

"Of course I do," the Halfa answered as she looked over her shoulder at the Girl of Steel. "I just want to-"

The Halfa grunted loudly when she was struck by a vicious hay-maker, sending her flying through the air, and crashing into a building."Thanks for the offer," Galatea said, as she smirked at the place where Beacon had crashed into, "but I think I'll pass."

"Rachel!" Supergirl yelled. Then she turned back to her clone, and clinched her fists as she boiled with rage. "You'll pay for that!" she snarled.

She swung her fist at the clone, but the latter lazily shifted out of the way and kneed Supergirl in the stomach. Then the clone punched her into a building. As she recovered from the attack, she saw her clone be engulfed in an explosion; Green Arrow had fired an explosive arrow at her. Unfortunately, it did absolutely nothing. Galatea simply glared at the archer as she fired a blast of heat-vision towards the building directly beside him. Arrow tried to outrun the blast, but was caught in an explosion, rendering him unconscious.

"Arrow!" Supergirl tried to help her friend, but her clone grabbed her cape and flung her onto a car that was parked on the street. Before she could continue, she felt something wrap around her throat and almost pressure on her head and neck.

"Please," Beacon begged, trying to subdue the clone with a headlock. "I'm trying to help." She grunted once again as Galatea elbowed her in her midsection.

"I. Don't. Need." she growled as she reached back and grabbed Beacon's hair. "Your help!" and she flung the Halfa down towards the street below, where she slammed into ground, creating a decently sized crater.

* * *

Supergirl had just recovered in time to see Beacon slam into ground, and then she looked up and saw her clone lift up a car over her head, and throw it at her. She quickly floated into the air to avoid the projectile, which skidded upon landing and crashed into a streetlamp. Supergirl grabbed the fallen streetlamp and swung it like a baseball bat, knocking Galatea through several buildings. Supergirl followed and tried to punch the clone, but she dodged and kicked her back toward street below. As Supergirl slowed her descent, Galatea flew from below and delivered a powerful uppercut. Before Supergirl could recover, she grabbed the front of her shirt, and drove her knee into her stomach, then a hammer-fist in her back. She was able to counter with a punch that Galatea higher in the air, then she sent another blow that sent the clone through another building before finally crashing into the ground.

Meanwhile, Beacon had regained consciousness, but her body ached after damaged she'd received. _Man, Kryptonians are no joke! _she thought. She climbed out of the crater, and saw Green Arrow finally getting back to his feet. Stand right next to him was the Question. After blinking several times, Beacon deduced that he must've entered chamber amongst all the chaos.

"Anything break?" Question asked.

"Just my stride." Green Arrow grunted, the three heroes turned when the heard and saw a building crash into another.

"No, I'm good." Beacon assured. "but I've been better though." she wince as she clutched the small of her back.

"Nap's over," told Question as he walked towards the site, "come on."

* * *

Supergirl slowly tried to get back to her feet, leaning back onto a piece of the building for support. Her costume had been torn, and there were cuts and bruises all over her body. It took a moment for the three Galateas she saw approaching to merge back into one. The clone stood a few feet before Supergirl, looking down at her with contempt.

"Next time," she snarled, "get you own dreams."

"Who do you work for?" Supergirl demanded weakly.

"Really?At the top?" Galatea smirked as she put her fists on her hips, "Even I don't know that. But I do know that I can't work in secret if you keep seeing what I do." Her eyes glowed red as her heat-vision began to charge up. "So, sayonara, sister."

"That's not the only reason, is it?" Galatea turned to see Question, Green Arrow, and Beacon. Supergirl breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her friends were okay, especially Beacon.

"You were setting up this bait even before Supergirl started asking questions." Question continued as he approached the clone, seemingly unafraid of her, "It's because the link both ways, doesn't it? While she was seeing what you were doing, you were feeling her conscience." Galatea turned away, as if trying to block out what he was saying. "That's why couldn't sleep at night. And I'll bet that got in the way of your work."

The faceless hero leaned in closer to the clone. "It bites having someone in your head, doesn't it?"

"You don't know what you're talking about." Galatea tried to deny.

"No?" asked Question, he stepped closer to the clone. "Prove it. Kill me."

Beacon let out a small gasp, while Galatea cocked her fist back. Green Arrow fitted an arrow in the notch of his bow, and Beacon narrowed her eyes as she took a fighting stance. The clone's fist began to shake; she seemed to be hesitating. Before she could make up her mind, Supergirl raised a SUV over her head, and brought it down on top of her clone. She then brought her entire body down on the vehicle, slamming it further into the ground. The Question quickly fled the scene as the car exploded behind him; he knew well enough to not involve himself in super-powered fights.

Beacon, however, flew forward to help. She had tried to get through to the clone peacefully, but now she's forced her hand. If they wanted their questions answered, they'd have to use force first. Beacon swung an elbow at the side of Galatea's face, then quickly grabbed the back of her head and pulled her down as the Halfa brought her knee up. Meanwhile, Supergirl charged forward, holding a steel girder from the previous car. Beacon threw Galatea to her, and Supergirl knocked the clone right back at Beacon. Beacon created three duplicates and one punched Galatea high in the air. Another kicked the clone to the side, and another duplicate grabbed her and punched her stomach. Then she whipped Galatea under her and brought her fist down onto her face, sending the clone back towards the ground. Before she touched down, however, Supergirl swung the girder again, knocking her to the ground.

Galatea slowly got back up to her feet; her costume was shredded, and her body covered in injuries. Supergirl threw the girder away as Beacon, minus her duplicates, landed next to her. Galatea glared as she took a fighting stance, as did her two opponents. As Galatea began to charge, a massive pillar of fire explode from the floor underneath them, knocking all three backwards.

More explosions filled the chamber as the three girls got back to their feet. "NO!" Galatea shouted to some unknown person. "I CAN DO THIS!"

Beacon saw cracks form underneath the clone's feet, and knew another explosion was about to happen. She rushed in to try and save her, but the blast knocked her back, all the Halfa saw was a faint silhouette of the clone, and heard a sickening scream.

"No!" screamed the Halfa.

"It's too late!" yelled Supergirl, "We need to get out of here!"

Beacon shook her head to clear it, and nodded. They flew back to the two men. Beacon grabbed Question up while Supergirl picked up Green Arrow. They all made it out just as Nuvo-Gen exploded, engulfing the building in flames.

* * *

**Watchtower**

A few hours later, after Supergirl had changed into an undamaged costume from her room and the four made a report to the senior members of the League, the four made their way back to Question's room. Supergirl was currently on the phone with Professor Hamilton.

"…We searched what was left of the place, but we never found the clone." She finished.

"Maybe there was nothing to find." Green Arrow suggested.

"Or that's what they want us to think." Question countered gloomily.

"I'm just glad you're okay, Supergirl." Came the concerned voice of Hamilton from the speaker of Question's phone.

"Professor," began Supergirl hesitantly, "to make this clone of me, they would've needed a DNA sample. Is there any chance it came from your lab?"

"No," assured Hamilton almost immediately, "we always destroy genetic material after surgery, it's standard procedure."

Supergirl was silent for a moment. "Okay. Thanks, Professor."

"Give my best to Superman."

"Will do. Bye." She hung up, and then she reached back and placed her hand over the now-familiar weight on her shoulder. She looked up at Beacon, who gave her a reassuring smile.

She turned her face away from the Halfa and closed her eyes for a moment; she just felt safe and secure when Rachel did that. Even though she was nearly indestructible, whenever Rachel puts her hand on her shoulder, it just puts her at ease; like everything was going to be okay. However above all that, she need to know something.

"Rachel," she began as she looked back at the Halfa, "Why did you say those things to her?"

Beacon frown and slid her hand off Supergirl's shoulder. She walked over to the window and stared out onto planet Earth.

"Yeah, about that," added Green Arrow. "Back there you seemed pretty determined to get her on our side."

There was a silent moment, and then Beacon exhaled a long, dragged-out sigh. "Because..." she paused for a second, unsure of herself. "Because one of my mentors, and closest friends was a clone."

"WHAT?!" Green Arrow and Supergirl yelled. Beacon turned to face them, the two of them were in total shock. As for Question, if he was surprised, his faceless mask hid any hint of it.

The Halfa's eyes found the floor. "She was one of the best Guardians in the business, and one of my inspirations for joining the program."

"So you sought to talk to the clone because she reminded you of _her._" deduced Question.

Beacon nodded. "Except, I never saw her as a copy of someone else," she told them. "I've always seen as her own person."

"Okay, but even if you see _this_ clone as a person," Green Arrow began, "she works for the bad guys, why would you try and convince her otherwise?"

"Because she's misunderstood. She doesn't know any better!" Beacon answered rather aggressively. Green Arrow and Supergirl were taken aback by the Halfa's reaction.

"Whoever created her," Beacon continued, "must've been misleading her her whole life. She must think that going up against the League is the right thing to do, but doesn't realize that she's really being used."

"Used? Used for what?" Green Arrow asked.

"This all started because Superman went renegade." The Question hypothesized as he stared at his board again. "They want a superhuman alien on their side if it ever happens again."

Silence filled the room again. Then Supergirl got off her chair and walked up to Beacon.

"Rachel," she began nervously. "Why didn't you tell us from the beginning?"

Beacon and Supergirl locked eyes with each other. "I'm sorry, Kara." Beacon said with quivering eyes. "I didn't know it'd turn out like this, and I was so worried about you that... I never would've thought about it anyway." Her eyes found the floor again, but this time her cheeks were flushed in a shade of red.

Supergirl stared at the girl in front of her for a moment, and then put her hand on her shoulder. When the Halfa looked up, Supergirl gave her a sweet smile. Beacon placed her hand over the Kryptonian's, before smiling back.

* * *

**Smallvile,Kansas**

A flash of light filled the Kent barn as Rachel and Kara appeared; the former was still in her ghost-form. Superman had told his cousin to go home and get some rest. Rachel had volunteered to accompany her, before heading home herself.

As the two walked out of the barn and reached the front door of the house, Kara turned to her friend.

"Thanks for this, Rach," said Kara, "but you really didn't have to escort me home."

"I know I didn't have to," Rachel replied, "but I wanted to."

Kara smiled, which Rachel returned. The two stood in silence for a moment, before Kara spoke up again.

"Well, thanks anyway." She said, "Good night." She turned to open the door.

"Kara, wait." Rachel cut in.

The Krypontian turned back to the Halfa. "Yeah?" she asked softly.

Rachel looked down for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. "Do you remember when I said I could come to you if I had a problem, any at all?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I want you to know that I'll be there for you too. I mean if you want me to." She said it as seriously as she could, but nothing hid the blush that was starting to form on her cheeks.

"Thanks, Rachel." Kara smiled.

"And there's one more thing."

"What is it?"

"I've been think a lot about... _that _day," she began, her blush getting darker, "and I was wondering if you're not doing anything this Saturday, we could hang out and talk, and maybe do some other things…"

Kara's eyes widened as she took in Rachel's words. _Did she just…?_

"Oh, um," she said as she felt her own cheeks grow warm, "really? Like what?"

Rachel swallowed. "I was thinking maybe go to dinner, or take a walk around the beach. It is Florida after all." As she said this, she made an extra effort to look Kara in the eye.

_She _did! Kara realized in her thoughts, _She just asked me out!_

"Um, Kara?" Rachel tilted her head slightly, "You okay?"

Kara realized that she'd been staring at Rachel for several moments, not moving a muscle.

"Uh? Um." She cleared her throat, trying to rebalance herself. However she was having difficulty keeping the smile and blush from appearing on her face. "Sure, I'd love to, Rach."

"Great!" Rachel exclaimed with an equally strong smile and blush on her face. Then what she did next caught Kara by complete surprise; the Halfa leaned in and pressed her lips against her cheek. The kiss only last for a brief moment. "It's a date. See you Saturday." She finished. Then the Halfa floated up into the air, and flew off. Kara stood on the porch for a while, stunned. She smiled as she raised a hand to the spot where Rachel had kissed her. Then she looked up into the sky, and saw Rachel flying gracefully through the air.

* * *

**Unknown Laboratory**

Professor Hamilton walked over to the operating table; there, surrounded by armed military and government officials, laid Supergirl's clone. Her head was heavily bandaged, her body was covered with bruises, and her face spotted two black eyes and a busted lip. The motionless clone was wearing a breathing mask and the pads on her chest were connected to a heartbeat monitor. However despite her steady heartbeat, she wasn't going anywhere for quite some time.

"You rest," said Hamilton softly, and then he cupped her cheek with his hand, "we'll have you fixed up in no time, Galatea."

* * *

**I've made some changes to this chapter. I hope you all could forgive me!**

**Now I'm nearly a hundred percent sure that all of you will figure out who Rachel was talking about, but for the sake of those who don't, I won't spoil it.**

**I'd also like to thank jaguarspot for sending me those suggestions. I'll admit I've honestly never even thought about it that way. And I would be like to suggest that you read **jaguarspot's story **"Mirrored Reflections". There's only been a couple chapters out so far, but they're very good and I am sure that the story will keep getting better.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed everything so far, and as always, I will see you all next time.**

**Hit me up if any of you have any questions, comments, and concerns.**


	10. Chapter 9

**I don't own Justice League or anything from their universe, and sadly I never will.**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 9

**Nighttime Gotham**

Gotham city is a place known for its widespread crime and corruption. So much so that one could even list them as tourist attractions. However, tonight was unusually quiet as Batman, Beacon, and Wonder Woman stood on top of the roof of a building. The three heroes had been vigilantly watching the National History Museum for hours. Wonder Woman was usually a patient person, but one can only admire a building for so long. Finally, the Amazon let out an exhausted sigh.

"Patience, Princess." Batman said, not taking his eyes away from the museum. "Intergang moves in mysterious ways."

"Tell me about it." Commented Wonder Woman as she leaned onto a stone gargoyle. "What use could they possibly have for the Rosetta Stone?"

"Do we even know what it does?" asked Beacon.

"No," replied the Detective firmly, "but if Intergang is after it; we'll need to keep it from getting into their hands. So in the meantime…"

"We know, Bruce," interrupted the Halfa, "patience."

Today had been a lackluster day for the ghost-girl, Martian Manhunter hadn't assigned any missions for her, and Miami was as quiet as ever. So when Batman and Wonder Woman had announced that they were going for a mission, the Halfa asked, and almost begged, to come with them. At the time, she was glad to finally be doing _something_, but as the hours dragged on, she was beginning to think that maybe this was a mistake.

Wonder Woman looked down onto another part of the street, and took in the many patrons both entering and leaving the Iceberg Lounge. Her eyes were focused on the couples that were either climbing into taxis or walking along the street as they held each other onto each other, all of them seemed completely happy to be in each other's company. Beacon noticed the longing in the Amazon's eyes and smiled inwardly to herself; she couldn't wait for her date with Kara on Saturday. She frowned when she realized that she hadn't even thought of a plan yet.

_Aww great, _she thought, _let's see… we should definitely have dinner; restaurant or stay at home? Mm, restaurant sounds better. Uh, should we go to a movie? Ugh, but there's nothing good out though! Okay, walking on the beach sounds fun, but what about afterwards? Oh! We can go get some ice cream! But what about after that? We could… um… uh…_

"Don't you ever wish you were down there, Bruce?" Beacon snapped out of her thoughts. She noticed that Wonder Woman hadn't taken her eyes off the Lounge.

"I'm down there all I need to be." Batman answered bluntly as he continued to survey the streets.

"Yes, but it's just a job to you. I'm talking about going down there and having some fun."

"Yeah, Bats." Beacon chimed in. "You work harder than any of us, you should cut yourself some slack and relax every once in a while. Who knows? It might do you some good."

Batman looked between the two women for a moment, before turning his attention back on the task at hand. "I don'thave time for fun _or_ to relax."

Beacon rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the street. Wonder Woman just stared at Batman for a moment.

"Not even with someone special?" she asked as she tucked her hair behind her ear. Batman didn't even glance at her. "No, no dating for the Batman."

"I think it might cut into his brooding time." Beacon commented, glancing up at the Amazon. Both of them broke into soft laughter, but they stopped when the Dark Knight turned his head to the older woman.

"One: Dating within the team always leads to disaster." He began. "Two: you're a princess from a society of immortal warriors: I'm a rich kid with issues…_ lots _of issues."

"Oh, come _on_." Beacon said exasperatingly. "Don't be like that."

Batman turned to face the Halfa. "And three: If my enemies knew I had someone special. They wouldn't rest until they'd gotten to me, through her." There was a sound of stone being smashed. They turned to see Wonder Woman standing there with her fist clinched where the stone gargoyle's head used to be.

"Next?" she said dangerously.

"Uh, I don't think you'd need to worry about her, Bats." Beacon pointed out with a sly smile.

Batman turned back to her. "But enough about me, what about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about _you_ asking a certain Kryptonian out on a date."

Beacon's eyes grew wide as her mouth dropped opened; her cheeks having turned to the color of red wine. Wait, _what?!_ It didn't make any sense, neither she nor Kara had told anyone about their date, and they were the only ones on the porch that night. So how did-. "H-how'd you know about that?!" she demanded.

Batman just stared at her impassively. "I didn't," he admitted," but I've had my suspicions, and you just confirmed them."

Wonder Woman chuckled, while Beacon glared at the Dark Knight for a moment, before letting out an exasperated sigh. _I suppose I did walk right into that one,_ she thought.

All three heroes turned when the sound of an alarm going off reached their ears. "There!" Batman pointed to a dark figure in an alley. They all moved to spring into action; Batman fired his grapple and launched himself towards the alley.

"Saved by the bell." Wonder Woman remarked as she exchanged looks Beacon, before they flew off after Batman.

* * *

The thief's face was covered by a full-faced mask, but the tight bodysuit did nothing to hide the curves. The thief slammed a crowbar into the notch between the door and its frame, and worked it back and forth to get the door open. She stopped when a batarang struck an electric panel beside the door.

The thief turned and saw Batman, Beacon, and Wonder Woman standing before her. Batman used his signature glare while the Amazon just stood there, somewhat confused.

"Just a common thief." She stated. "What happened to Intergang?"

"J'onn must've gotten a bad tip, it happens." Batman replied, holding out his hand to the thief. "I'll take the crowbar."

The thief smirked. "Whatever you say." Then she threw the crowbar at the Dark Knight, but as soon as she did, it turned into a large snake, and drew out its fangs, ready to sink them into Batman's flesh. Batman managed to dodge the viper, but only just, before it landed and slithered into the shadows. "That trick always wins over big in Egypt."

"I don't think this is a 'common thief' we're dealing with here." Beacon stated the obvious.

"How right you're, young missy." The thief raised her arms, as she did; bright purple sparkles shimmered in the air. When she worked stepped out of the shadows, her black bodysuit was gone. Now she wore a short teal-colored strapless dress with gold trimmings, she wore sleeves that came up to her biceps. With her mask now gone, the thief had long dark purple hair, bright blue eyes, dark-colored lips, and a pair of large golden circular earrings.

"Circe!" exclaimed Wonder Woman as the heroes got into combat stances. "Be careful. She's-"

"Yeah, I've read the Odyssey." Batman interrupted as he threw more batarangs at the sorceress. Circe raised her arm, and in a flash, the batarangs became two doves and quickly flew off.

"That it for you?" she asked arrogantly. Then she grunted when a blue energy beam blasted her off her feet, sending her to the ground. Circe got back to her feet and glared at Beacon. "You insolent little brat!" she scolded.

"There's plenty more where that came from." the Halfa warned, keeping her arm extended.

"What are you doing here, witch?" demanded Wonder Woman. "I thought you were banished."

Circe turned to the Amazon, her smirk returning to her face. "They needed more space down below, so they paroled me. "She informed. "Of course I had to promise to leave your Mommy Dearest alone before they'd let me out."

"Mother sent her to the pits of Tartarus." Wonder Woman told her teammates. "Circe had a nasty habit of turning innocent people into animals."

"I'm real good at it too." She boasted, arching her smirk up higher.

"So I've read." Batman chimed in. "Let's not give her another chance." The three heroes charged at the sorceress, but Circe just raised her arm again and created a shockwave that blasted them back to a wall. Wonder Woman was the first to recover and charged at her again. Before she got even close, the Amazon was grabbed by a giant concrete hand that emerged from the building behind her. She tried desperately to escape its grasp, but she couldn't no matter how hard she struggled.

"I promised to leave your mother alone, little princess," said Circe as she approached Wonder Woman, "but nobody said anything about you. Rest assured, after I get done with you-"

Before Circe could form her next words, she was sent flying further down the alley. Circe looked up and saw Beacon floating above her.

"Do you even know _who _you're messing with?" she snarled.

The Halfa landed a few feet in front her. "I know I can't just let you do whatever you want."

"Silly, silly child." the sorceress said as she got back to her feet, and smirked once more. "I'd love to see you try and stop me." This time, raising both her arms, Circe shot two blasts purple energy at the Halfa. Beacon ducked to avoid them since it was faster than turning intangible. After the blasts had soared past her head, Beacon got back to her feet.

"Nice move," commented Circe, "but I wasn't aiming for you."

* * *

Beacon turned around and saw two dumpsters being engulfed in purple energy. One second later, one dumpster floated into the air, and landed soundlessly on top of another. Then the metal began to warp and twist, until it became a creature standing about fifteen feet tall, and reeking with foul stenches. The monster let out a vicious roar, blowing more putrid smells in Beacon's direction. If the Halfa had been in her human form, she would've vomited right then and there.

"Get her, boy." Circe ordered with a light chuckle. The metal monster immediately slammed its arm down at the Halfa, who dove of the way. Thinking fast, she shot an energy blast directly at its chest, causing the creature to stumble back a few feet. After the monster had regained its footing, it reached into its mouth, and pulled out a large black plastic bag. Beacon didn't even want to think about what could possibly be inside. The monster threw the bag at the Halfa, who now had enough time to turn intangible. The bag went right through her and exploded into the wall behind her, leaving a wet brownish-green mess.

"Ew!" exclaimed Beacon as she examined the wall, and then turned back to the monster. "You really shouldn't litter." With that, she kicked off the ground, and flew towards the monster.

Batman had recovered enough to see Wonder Woman still struggling against the giant hand holding her off the ground. He also noticed Circe approaching her; he sprung back up, and threw two more batarangs at the sorceress. Unfortunately, Circe blasted the projectiles and the Dark Knight backwards, the latter slammed hard onto the ground.

With a wicked smirk, Circe turned to face Wonder Woman. "Now where was I?" she began. "Ah, that's right, after I get done with you: Hippolyta won't want you for a daughter, and your pointy-eared boyfriend and that good-for-nothing teenager won't want you for anything." She raised her palm inches from Wonder Woman's face as it began to glow again. Then a white light filled the alley. Batman lifted himself off the ground, he only had time to gasp before the light became too blinding and he had to shield his eyes.

* * *

When he reopened them, he saw no sign of Circe. The sorceress must've escaped in that span of time. Although at the moment, that's not what he was concerned about.

"Diana?" he asked. No response. "Diana!" he called loudly. Then something brushed up against his leg. He glanced downwards and widened his eyes.

Then the sound of metal slamming onto concrete jolted his gaze back upwards. Floating a few feet in the air was Beacon; her bright blue eyes were fixed to the pile of scape metal directly underneath her. After a moment, she found the Dark Knight, and quickly descended back towards the ground.

"Batman," she called out as she approached him. "You alright? Where's-" she looked down at Batman's feet and gasped. There, standing on its four legs, was a bright-pink pig, but what made the Halfa widen her eyes were the two silver bracelets on its forelegs.

"Oh no! Diana!" she crouched down and took a closer look at the transformed Amazon. The pig wrinkled its nares at Beacon, and then violently jerked its head to the side before walking away from her.

The Halfa blinked for a moment before examining her body. Nearly every inch of her was covered in dirt and grime, and upon taking a sniff; her nostrils flared, and her vision became blurry.

"Ugh," she groaned in disgust, and then let a small awkward laugh. "Sorry, I forgot." Beacon floated up in the air, and a split second later, seemingly vanished from sight. The muck and scum from her fight with Circe's monster began to slowly slide downward, creating a pile on the ground. With all the disgusting materials gone, the Halfa become solid once again. "Much better." She commented as she examined her now clean clothes.

"This must be the extent of Circe's revenge." Batman hypothesized as he studied the transformed Amazon, who was currently sniffing various trash-hemps throughout the alley.

"Why didn't she just kill her?" Beacon asked as she landed next to the Dark Knight.

"In a way, this is worse than death." Replied Batman grimly.

Beacon stared at Diana as she knocked over a trashcan, and started to rummage inside rather enthusiastically. "You're right. Humiliation is _way _worse." She agreed before turning back to Batman. "So what do we do now?"

Batman was silent as he rubbed his chin. "Unfortunately, there's not much we _can _do," he looked at Beacon, "unless you know anything about magic."

"Sorry," Beacon shrugged, "not exactly my forte, but give me a second." As she cupped her chin in her fingers, a thought surfaced in her mind. _Aw man, Ari would kill me if I said I didn't know anything._

"We'll either need to go after Circe," the Halfa added, "or we'll need to find another magician."

Batman turned and surveyed the alley. "Doesn't look like she left any trail for us to follow."

"So we're stuck with the second option." Beacon finished.

Batman nodded. "And I know just the one." He pressed a button on his gauntlet, and then a roaring sound of an engine could be heard from down the street, growing louder by the second. A few moments later, a sleek, black car that's completely decked out with armored-plating sped into the alley, stopping directly in front of the two heroes. This made it the third time that Beacon had seen this car, and the first time that she saw it actually leave the Batcave. Batman and Beacon walked towards the Batmobile, with the latter holding Diana. When the cockpit opened, Beacon turned and eyed Batman curiously.

"Sorry, only seats two." The Detective stated matter-of-factly. The Halfa smirked as she floated over the cockpit, and gently put Diana down on the passenger seat. Then she turned back to face Batman.

"That's okay," she shrugged. "I wouldn't want to intrude on the two of you."

"Funny," Batman commented, but his tone said otherwise. He climbed into the driver's side and closed the cockpit, while Beacon vanished from sight. The Batmobile's headlights lit up as it backed out of the alley. Then the rear thrusters exploded, launching the armored car down the street, the roar of its engine echoing off the walls of the surrounding buildings.

* * *

**Nearby stage theater**

A man's head rested in an open box as he looked out onto the audience with a winning smile. Directly next to him in larger boxes, were his body and legs. A young woman walked up next to the box that housed the man's head, and looked out onto the packed theater. She had a slender, voluptuous figure, with long black hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a black top hat, a white buttoned-up blouse with a collar and bow-tie beneath a small tail tailcoat; a pair of small black tights, with dark-colored nylon stockings, and black Stiletto heels.

"My poor assistant," Zatanna Zatara remarked with excellent showmanship. "He's fallen all to pieces. Let's see if I can help him pull himself together." As she walked past her assistant's body parts, she blocked them from view by sliding down the propped-up slot on each of the boxes. Then she placed each one on top of each other, with the smallest box, naturally, at the very top. Zatanna then pulled a thin, black wand seemingly out of nowhere, and gave it an exaggerated flick. Tiny purple sparks appeared as the wand traced through the air, before Zatanna aimed one last flick at the smallest box.

The box opened, but the man's head was gone. Instead, a pair of black boots appeared in its place. "Oops." Zatanna put her hand over her mouth as the audience broke into laughter. She then flicked open the other two boxes. Revealing her now piece-together, but upside down assistant, the assistant walked onto the stage on his hands while the audience oh'd and ah'd with fascination, and then applauded when the assistant got back to his feet, and gave a courteous bow.

"Thank you." smiled Zatanna, as her assistant pushed the boxes off stage. "You've been a wonderful audience, and for my final illusion: I would like to pull a rabbit out of my hat."

She took off her top hat and gestured to it while the audience murmured amongst each other. "Trust me," Zatanna added, "it isn't as easy as everybody thinks." She reached into her hat as a drumroll filled the theater. "Come on Bugs. Where are you?" she asked as she continued rummage, and then she sunk her whole forearm into the top hat.

In that instant, a giant hand appeared from the ceiling. Members of the audience screamed as they sprung to feet, trying to avoid getting grabbed. The hand closed its fingers around a middle-age man, and pulled him into the ceiling, where they both vanished from sight. Back on stage, Zatanna pulled her arm out of her hat. Resting on her hand was the man from the audience, except now he was small enough to fit in her palm. "Well, you're not as furry," she leaned her face closer to the small man, "but you're just as cute."

She placed the small man on the stage, and gave her wand another flick. "kcab ot lamron." She chanted. In a flash of light, the man grew back to his original size. The man looked absolutely stunned as the audience stood on their feet, and cheered for Zatanna. The magician took off her hat again and took a lingering bow while the audience applauded, whistled, and threw roses onto the stage.

* * *

After the show, Zatanna walked backstage, and entered her dressing room. Where she took off her blazer and blouse, and pulled on a more comfortable robe. She sat down on the make-up table with a steaming mug of coffee in her hand. A crystal ball sat directly in front of her as she sipped the thin, dark drink. The cloudiness of the ball vanished as it showed a moving image of her assistant stepping into a large vertical box. Afterwards, the Zatanna in the crystal ball closed the box, and spun it in place twice. Then she pulled out her wand, gave it a swish and flick, and reopened the box; revealing a female assistant in the man's place. The illusion had gathered wondrous applause during the show, but Zatanna was watching with a critical eye.

"Hmm, a little slow on the switch." She pointed out loud to no one in particular. "Gotta watch that."

The crystal ball blurred out of focus when Zatanna saw a shadow appear over it. She turned and saw the brooding face that belonged to none other than Batman. Standing next to him was Beacon, the white-hair teenage girl that she had met on Initiation day. Back then, the young girl seemed a little nervous when she was conversing with her, but out of common courtesy, she didn't push the subject.

"What was it, some kind of hologram?" Batman asked. "Or was it the real thing?"

Beacon raised an eyebrow at the Detective. "Um, you _do_ know that magicians aren't supposed to reveal their secrets, right? That's kind of their trademark." Batman ignored her.

Zatanna gave a small chuckle. "It's called sorcery, Bruce." she revealed. "Usually I play it straight, but for the big closer I throw in any little _dazzle_." As she finished, bright blue sparkles blinked out of her fingertips.

"Well, however you played it; I thought your show was great, Zatanna." Beacon complimented.

"Thank you," the magicians replied with a smile, "but please, call me 'Z'." The Halfa nodded as she smiled in return. Then Zatanna turned to address Batman, "but enough about my secrets. What have you been up to? We haven't seen each other in so long."

"Can we discuss that later? " Batman asked in his usual no-nonsense tone. "Someone's in trouble."

"Who?" Zatanna frowned. "What kind of trouble?"

"Well…" Batman began, rather uncomfortably.

"It's Diana," Beacon stepped in. "She's had a spell cast on her."

"By who?" asked Zatanna.

"I think you should see for yourself." Batman suggested after finding his words.

* * *

After few minutes later, Zatanna, now dressed in her usual attire, minus the hat, followed Batman and Beacon out the back of the building, where the Batmobile was parked. Batman pulled out a remote and pressed the button. The cockpit opened, revealing the pig sitting on the passenger seat. The animal looked back and forth between the three curiously.

"Ew," Zatanna commented with a raised eyebrow, and then rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Circe, huh? It was all over the mystic Ethernet that she'd made parole. I'll see what I can do."

"We should bring her inside," suggested Beacon, "it would attract less attention."

"Good idea," Zatanna agreed, "Come on."

Zatanna walked back inside the building, as she left, Beacon turned to Batman. "You want to carry her or should I?"

Batman narrowed his eyes, then swiftly stalked back inside. "Just get her inside."

The Halfa reached inside the Batmobile, and gently picked Diana up; the Amazon gave a small squeal as she did so. "Sorry, Diana." She said softly. "Can't have you running off." With that, she reentered the building, making sure to close the door behind her.

Back in the dressing room, the three heroes watched as Diana devoured the fruit from the basket that Zatanna had conjured with her magic. The transfigured Amazon was eating as if she had been starving for days. Diana's attention was diverted from her meal when blue shimmers began to envelope her body.

"Lleps eb nekorb." Zatanna recited. The blue shimmers disappeared, but nothing happened. Diana stared at the magician for a moment, before turning back to her food. Zatanna blinked for a second before trying again, but her spell yielded the same result. She tapped her chin before waving her wand again.

"anaiD, emoceb namuh." A bright light flashed for the tip of Zatanna's wand, but Diana just continued munching her on her food.

"Well, I've given it my best shots." Zatanna gave up as Batman knelt down to rub the pig's back. "I guess my powers ran a distant second to those of a goddess. We could call in one of the other lead magicians; Doctor Fate, maybe."

"No," Batman forbade immediately. The magician was startled by his sudden outburst. Realizing this, Batman eased up a little. "I mean, let's keep this between us."

"But why?" questioned Zatanna. "If there is a chance to help Diana, shouldn't we tell -"her voice trailed off when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Beacon looking at her. The Halfa then whipped her eyes back and forth between the magician and the Dark Knight as he rubbed the pig more thoroughly.

"Oh," Zatanna figured out. "Wait, wait. You and her, are you two-?"

"Just good friends." Batman interrupted as he got back to his feet.

"Or so he says." Beacon retorted while Zatanna approached him.

"No," Zatanna denied with a small laugh, "you and _I _are just good friends. There's something more between you and Diana."

"Well," Batman looked away as spoke in a low to tone, "maybe there was."

"Don't worry, Bruce." Beacon reassured. "We'll everything we can help. " Zatanna put a hand on Batman's shoulder, who gave both women a very slight nod.

Zatanna turned and walked back towards her crystal ball. "But I'm beginning to think that only Circe can turn our chubby friend here back into Wonder Woman." She leaned closer, and watched as the smoke swirled endlessly inside the ball. "And Lord only knows where she is right now."

"Maybe there is something we can do." Beacon announced after a moment of silence. The older heroes turned to face her.

"Well, if you've got any ideas," Zatanna said. "We're all ears."

"We can try using a locator spell," the Halfa proposed, "I don't know how it's done here exactly, but I do know that we'll basically need some magical artifacts, some raw ingredients, some candles, and a quiet place to work." As she ran down the list, she marked off each item by extending her fingers.

"Wow," Zatanna smiled as she looked at younger girl, amazed with her knowledge of the mystic arts. "I'm impressed. You sure know your magic."

Beacon's cheeks flushed a little at the compliment. "Thanks," She said gratefully, but then her smile faded as she stared at the floor, "but I'm not an expert. My old girlfriend was a magic-user. So during our time together I… picked up a few things."

Zatanna frowned, as she took in the Halfa's words. Their first meeting on the Watchtower must have caused some unpleasant memories to resurface. However, before the magician could go any further, Batman addressed her.

"Can we find what she said here in Gotham?"

"Yes," confirmed Zatanna, "and I know just where to get them." With she walked out of the dressing room. Beacon followed her, but stopped when she reached the doorframe. She turned back and looked Batman right in the eye.

"_You're _carrying her this time." She smirked, and then walked out.

Batman looked at Diana, who stared back. Then the Dark Knight reached down and lifted the transformed Leaguer off her feet.

* * *

A short ride… and flight later, the heroes entered a small store, which was surprisingly still open this late at night. On the shelves were beakers filled with various brightly colored liquids, dried ingredients ranging from roots to various fungi filled the jars the rest along the other shelves. There were also books written in various languages, both current and seemingly extinct, as well as mysterious looking items made from gold, silver, and an assortment of other metals. Lastly, on display were crystal balls ranging from the size of an apple, to the size of a basketball.

Zatanna was currently having a rather difficult conversation with the shopkeeper. The owner was a small elderly man who had gray hair, but none of it was on the top. He had dark eyes, thick gray eyebrows, a large nose, and large ears.

"Come on, Sid, are you going to sell me the Chimera scale or not?" Zatanna demanded of the shopkeeper.

Sid looked at the magician, slightly irritated. "You know the rules," he said matter-of-factly, "the elements of magic always come at a price, and I don't take cash or plastic." He finished firmly.

Zatanna held up to her hands in exasperation. "So what do you _want_?"

Sid's eyes looked away from Zatanna, and he furrowed his bushy brows angrily. "Hey, is that thing housebroken?" He pointed an accusing finger somewhere behind the heroes. They turned to see Diana ransacking a cardboard box, and then gnawing at a piece of fabric.

"I'll take care of her," Batman volunteered. After he walked away, the two other heroes turned back to Sid.

"Now, about that final ingredient I need for my locator spell." Zatanna began.

Sid stared at the magician for a moment, and then expressed a crafty smirk.

"It's all yours for one silver good-luck fin; mid-Ching dynasty, if you please."

"What?!" Zatanna exclaimed. "That is robbery!

"What robbery?" The shopkeeper questioned, feigning innocence. "I am giving it to you at cost."

"It's a total rip." Zatanna pointed an accusing finger at Sid. "I could conjure it up for nothing."

"Try it." Sid dared. "Chimera scale is nearly impossible to get, by magic or not." He placed his hand over his chest. "And I'm this dimension's only suppler."

Beacon had to fight the urge not to raise an eyebrow. From what she had read, chimeras can be extremely vicious. So how could such an old man even get his hands on one of its scales? Let alone be the only supplier in this dimension. However, she ultimately decided to remain indifferent; she'd learned a lot time ago to not underestimate anything based solely on their appearance. The Halfa turned to Zatanna. "Looks like we don't have much of a choice."

Zatanna sighed through her nose as she glared at Sid. "Okay, you win." Then she held up her hand. "esrup raeppa." She chanted. In a shimmer of light, a small black coin purse appeared on her palm. She rummaged inside for a moment, and then took out a large white Chinese coin. She gave it to Sid, who examined it admiringly.

"Thank you," he smiled as he stowed the coin in his pocket. Then he walked over to one of the shelves behind him, and pulled a large scale that looked like it belonged to a snake.

* * *

Meanwhile, Batman had finally calm Diana down. As she sat on the floor, the Detective gently hooked a rope around the Diana's neck, and then pulled on it until it was snug.

"We'll be done here soon." Batman assured softly as he rubbed Diana's head. The three heroes and the shopkeeper walked over to a nearby roundtable, placed directly in the center was a three candled candelabra. As they gathered around the table, Zatanna and Sid placed the chimera scale down, as well as a small wrinkled hand, a silver metal ankh, and plate of white powder, and a small stuffed doll.

After the ingredients were set, a stream of blue sparkles shot out for Zatanna's extended finger, igniting the three candles. Then she closed her eyes and began her in enchantment.

"I call upon the spirits of earth and air to reveal our enemy and make her whereabouts known." She opened her eyes and looked at Batman and Beacon. "This invocation works better fronts than backwards."

"Whatever." Dismissed Batman.

"Works for me." Beacon said at the same time while she shrugged.

As Zatanna closed her eyes again, streams of blue energy swirled around all of them, gaining more speed by the second. While over at the opposite end of the store, Diana's eyes widened as she stared at what was unfolding in front of her. She brought her mouth down on the rope holding in place, and started to chew frantically.

"Circe," Zatanna commanded, "show yourself." As she finished, the blue sparkles erupted into a pillar of energy. The light was so intense that Beacon, Batman, and Sid had to back away slightly and shield their eyes. The pillar roared upwards before exploding in a puff of blue smoke. Zatanna cleared the smoke by waving her hat back and forth.

"Well, that was a lot of nothing!" barked the magician.

"Circe must be too powerful for the spell to detect." Beacon deduced.

"Then there's not much anybody can do." Sid shrugged.

"Then what was the point of all this?" questioned Zatanna irritably. Then she rounded on the shopkeeper. "Give me my coin back." She held out her hand expectantly.

"Sorry, kid." Sid smirked. "No refunds."

"You slimy little-"

"Zatanna! Beacon!" She and the Halfa turned and looked at Batman, who pointed at the opened door. "She's gone!"

Without hesitation, the three heroes bolted out the door. Before leaving the store, Zatanna whipped around to see Sid standing there admiring _her _coin. She glared at him as she raised her hand.

"Dnufer." In a puff of smoke, the coin vanished from Sid's fingers and reappeared in Zatanna's. However, before the magician could gloat any further, a black gloved hand grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her out of the store.

* * *

**Gotham Zoo**

Batman, Beacon, and Zatanna had been searching up and down Gotham for the missing Diana, but the transformed Leaguer had managed to elude them. Beacon had tried to find Diana by conducting an aerial search, but looking over an entire city for one small four-legged animal was overwhelming. After a few hours, Batman called for a regroup so they could discuss a different plan.

Some of the animals in the zoo had awoken from their slumber when the three heroes met up again. When they realized that the heroes were no threat, the animals laid their heads back down, and closed their eyes once more. Zatanna walked over to a bench and sat down. Then the magician slipped off one of heels, and rubbed the sole of her foot.

"You know," Beacon began, causing Zatanna to look at her. "I love heels as much as the next girl, but I don't think they're the best in this situation."

Zatanna gave the Halfa a feeble smile, and shrugged. "Meh, I've gotten used to it." Beacon shrugged in return, having found no argument against that logic. The magician put her shoe back on, and turned to Batman, who had his back to them as he stared into some unknown distance. "Well, I guess that's it." Zatanna continued, "From mud-hole to sty; we've looked everywhere."

Batman looked over his shoulder, and when he spoke, there was no mistaking the irritability in his voice. "Obviously we haven't, because we haven't found her yet." He then clinched his jaw, and turned away from them.

"Hey, don't get snippy with me!" Zatanna scolded. "How many other girls would go this far out of their way for a cold, insensitive-"she stopped when Beacon put a hand on her shoulder.

"Z, that's not helping," said the Halfa, then she turned her head and looked at Batman, "and Batman, we're all worried about Diana. We just need a new-" She furrowed her brows and jerked her head to the tree above her and Zatanna. "Who are you?" she asked in an accusatory tone. Before Zatanna could look up as well, a figure hopped out of the three and landed on the bench. The figure was a muscular man who wore a mask reassembling that of a luchador, with blacked-out eye sockets, and triangular points. He also wore small gold tights underneath a red and white striped tarp around his lower body, and red and gold fur boots. Besides all that, the man didn't wear anything else.

"Yo, Bats." He greeted. Zatanna gave a small yelp and jumped off the bench.

"Relax," told Batman indifferently, "He's one of us."

"B'wana Beast." The man said holding out his hand to the two young women. Beacon and Zatanna took turns slowly shaking his hand. "How're you doin'." B'wana Beast said to the magician.

Zatanna quickly jerked her hand out of his grasp, and put them on her hips. "My legs are fine, as is the rest of me." She then pointed to her face. "Up here."

"Whoa," B'wana Beast exclaimed in pretend fear. "She's got the fire of the cheetah in her." He then leaned closer to Zatanna and made a loud purring noise. Beacon saw the magician's discomfort, and decided to step in.

"A little too close there, pal." She said as she placed a hand on his chest, and gently pushed him back.

B'wana Beast held up his hands in peace. "Relax there, young tigress. I was just fooling around." He then gave the Halfa a rather smug grin, causing her to reel her head back.

"Uh," Zatanna began as she looked at Batman, "why are you doing this to us?"

"Apart from being an expert tracker, he can communicate with animals." The Dark Knight stated as he approached the other man. "I called him to help search."

The two women backed always, eagerly wanting to get some distance from the creepy hero. "We're looking for a lost pig," Batman told Beast, "pink, 60 pounds, wearing two silver bracelets." He then lowered his voice slightly at his next words. "Used to be Wonder Woman."

"Right on," Beast replied. He then jerked a thumb behind him. "I'll yank in some of the other guys."

Batman however, walked even closer to him. "Let's keep the circle small," he traced a circle in the air with his finger, "_very _small."

B'wana Beast winked, and then made a clicking noise as he pointed at the Detective. Afterwards, he sped off, jumping out of the zoo in various animalistic natures.

"Well, that was a thing." Beacon commented.

Batman narrowed his eyes, and then whirled around. "Let's move." He ordered as he walked. Zatanna and Beacon exchanged looks with each other before walking after the Dark Knight.

* * *

While having more hands on deck was generally helpful, it wasn't so in this case. The heroes were no closer to finding Diana than they had been before. B'wanna Beast had in fact enlisted more help for other heroes, such as Red Tornado, Elongated Man, and the Crimson Avenger. They each searched their own sectors of Gotham, either calling for the lost Leaguer, or handing out 'missing' flyers to any passers-by. The heroes thought they were getting a lucky break when an aging man had said that he had seen the pig in the picture. However their hopes were crushed when the man had told his wife that the heroes were looking for her.

A few more hours in, as B'wanna Beast surveyed the street while hanging from a light post. The animal-themed hero saw a streak of pink race past the corner of his eye. He jerked his head quickly to see a small pig that completely matched Batman's description.

"Yo, Wonder Pig!" He yelled as he hopped from his post. He hopped along the street on all fours as he chased Diana. The transformed Amazon must've either ignored him or failed to hear him, because she just continued to run down the block until she turned in to an alley to avoid an on-coming semi-truck.

After Beast jumped over the truck, and followed Diana to the alley. He pressed the button on the communicator in his ear. "Bats, Beast." He called. "Got a fix on your girl."

Several miles away, the Batmobile zoomed along another street. Batman kept his eyes locked firmly on the road.

"Good work." Was all he said.

"I'll have her ready for pick up in…" Beast's voice was cut off; Zatanna looked at the batmobile's speakers curiously before he spoke again. "Yeah, look Bats. I think I might've jumped the gun when I said "I found the pig."

"Keep looking," Batman ordered immediately, "Zatanna, Beacon, and I are going after Circe."

"How? Zatanna raised an eyebrow at the Dark Knight. "The locator spell didn't work."

"It's time for one of my tricks," Batman told her, "we need a snitch." Zatanna just stared at her friend, having no idea where this was headed. Batman made a turn at the end of the street, and floored the accelerator when he reached the highway.

* * *

**Dark Cave**

While the average cave had stalactites and stalagmites, the cave that Batman, Beacon, and Zatanna were in had a very eerie feel to it, and the distorted stone faces that were carved into the cave walls did nothing to help the issue. The three heroes were standing on the edge of bank with another woman; her long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail. She wore a white toga, and had a blindfold over eyes. In her right hand was an ancient looking golden scale, and in her left was a polished sword.

"Thank you for setting this up," Zatanna said to her.

"Please," replied Themis, "your League has done much good in my name. When you summoned me, how could I refuse?"

At that moment, Beacon shivered slightly when she felt a chill at the bottom of her spine. However, it lingered as it traveled up her back, the coldness growing more intense as it spread throughout her body. The cold finally made its way to the Halfa's throat, and as she gasped, a trail of bright blue vapor escaped from her mouth.

"Beacon?" Zatanna eyed her with concern. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," the Halfa answered as she looked at the three other adults. "My ghost-sense just went off."

"Your what?" Batman asked.

"_Ghost _sense." Beacon repeated. "It's an ability I have to detect ghostly presences."

"Well, Tartarus _is _in the realm of the Underworld." Themis explained.

The four of them turned when the water made a sound. "Here comes our stoolie." Batman stated.

Approaching them were two figures wearing dark hooded cloaks on a small row boat. One figure sat down while the other stood behind and rowed the boat forward, on the hilt of the rower's oar was a small lantern that illuminated the way. Zatanna held out three blindfolds, Beacon and Batman both took one.

"Don't look at her directly." advised Themis, as the three heroes wrapped their blindfolds around their heads to cover their eyes. Shortly after, the boat pulled onto the bank. The sitting figure climbed out of the boat, and then pulled off her hood; revealing a woman with scales for skin, yellow eyes with vertical slits, and live green snakes instead of hair. The rattling the snakes were enough to set Beacon on edge.

"Medusa," Themis greeted, "you have chance to earn leniency; _if _you help our visitors. You were Circe's cellmate, weren't you?"

Medusa looked at blindfolded blonde. "C-girl and me did some time together back in the Pit of Eternal Torment." She informed in a very croaky voice. "That's where they hang you by your ankles and weasel's come each night to eat your fingers." Beacon and Zatanna jerked back slightly as the horrid image was painted into their minds.

"They grow back the next day, but trust me," Medusa continued, "it gets old real quick."

"Uh," Beacon began, "we _really _didn't need to know that."

"Yeah?" Medusa quipped. "Well, now you know anyway. Nothing much you can do about it, sweetie."

"But did she ever mention Hippolyta?" Zatanna chimed-in, wanting to be done with this conversation.

Medusa turned to the magician. "Are you kidding?" she asked exasperatedly. "Hippolyta, _Hippolyta_, all the time Hippolyta, 'When I get my hands on her.', Yadi-yadi-yada." She finished her last words waving her hand back and forth.

"That much we know." Batman said. "We're wasting our time." The three moved to turn back.

"Wait, wait!" Medusa begged; the heroes turned back around to listen to watch she had to tell them. "There was one other thing. 'Circe' was always saying she wanted to headline at the amphitheater."

Batman, Beacon, and Zatanna just 'stared' at her. "The amphitheater? On Myknonos, duh!" She then expressed a wicked smile that the other couldn't see. "Seems 'Circe' was wicked jealous of her cousins the Sirens, and _swore_ she'd someday get her turn on the band stand." She held her hand up in an informing fashion. "Sophocles got his start there, Aristophanes, all the big names. You know those statues at the entrance? _Mine_." She finished as she put a hand over her chest.

Themis raised her scale, and after a moment, it leaned towards the right. "Thank you, Medusa." She said. "And know that you've earned 300 years off your sentence."

"Freedom in 4010. Ring-a-ding-ding!" Medusa calculated with sarcasm as she twirled her finger in a circular motion. She turned around and climbed back on the boat. After she sat down, the rower then held his out expectantly.

"Uh, there's a small service charge." Themis told the heroes. Batman reached into a compartment in his utility belt, pulled out two pennies, and handed them to the rower. The latter put the coins in his pocket, and pushed the boat forward.

"When you see Circe," Medusa yelled, "tell her I want my curling iron back!" After that, the two figures vanished from sight. The three heroes took off their blindfolds and moved to exit the cave. Beacon however, stayed put.

"Thank you again for your help, ma'am." Beacon said to Themis gratefully.

Themis smiled. "It is my pleasure, child. And good luck to you."

"Thank you." Repeated the Halfa, then she swiftly turned to follow Batman and Zatanna.

* * *

**Gotham City; local Butchery**

"Here piggy, piggy." a rather large butcher with a full mustache and beard called. He was just spending his shift reading a newspaper when a pig escaped and ran across his field of vision. The butcher immediately gave chase, and had tried to subdue the runaway swine, but for some unfathomable reason; this pig was strong enough to drag him across a long stretch of the butchery floor. After realizing that there was no way to catch the pig with his hands, the butcher went to his locker, and pulled out a double-barreled shotgun to assist him.

It only took him several minutes with a flashlight to find the pig hiding, or at least trying to hide, in a mountain of barrels. When the light beam hit the pig's eyes; the animal bolted, wanting nothing more than to get further away from the arm butcher. The pig was so focused on running that it didn't see that it had run into another mountain of barrels.

Having finally cornered the pig, a smirk grace the butcher's face as he pumped back the hand grip in his shotgun, and then aimed it directly at the animal.

"Say good night, 'pork chop'." The butcher looked down the sight, and pulled the trigger. A loud boom erupted throughout the slaughterhouse as the shell shot towards the pig. The animal instinctively crossed it forelegs in front of it, and deflected the shot with one of its two silver bracelets. The butcher was completely flabbergasted by what he had just witnessed, but after shaking his head to clear it; he fired another shot. The pig wasted no time and quickly ran away to avoid the deadly shell, causing it to hit one of the barrels. The shot caused the barrels to tether this way and that, before all of them fell on top of the butcher.

* * *

**Greece**

A bright blue puff of smoked flashed In the middle of a dark clearing. As the thick gas began to disperse, Batman, Beacon, and Zatanna walked up to an open entrance that was flanked by several large statues. The statues weren't that pleasing to look at, as their subject matter were mostly men and women seemingly looking away in fear.

"You have to admit," said Zatanna, "Medusa does good work."

"At least she's consistent," Beacon commented on how nearly all the statues had the victims trying to shield their faces from their then-inevitable doom.

"Let's move," Batman instructed, and then bolted into the entrance. Beacon rose into the air and swiftly followed the Dark Knight. Zatanna was right behind them, taking great care to hold on to her top hat.

Inside the amphitheater, one single stage was set up to in front of the many gentlemen that were sitting at their draped-over dinner tables. The men were unanimously applauding for tonight's entertainment. The woman standing on stage had performed numerous musical numbers, and every single one had the same level of perfection.

"Thank you, thank you. You've all be so kind to be tonight." Circe told her audience as she stood there in her formfitting, full-length, red strapless gown, and arm-length gloves. "You know my cousins; the Sirens never thought I could sing. Really, they thought the all that with 'charm the sailors' routine, but I'm showing them, aren't I?"

The men sitting at their tables just stared at the sorceress, not responding either from fear or confusion. Either way, the theater was so silent; one could hear another's heartbeat. Circe glared at the men dangerously, and almost immediately, the applause rocked the place again.

"Oh! Thank you, I love you all!" she said as she spread her arms. As the applause died down again, Circe leaned closer to the microphone. "Are there any requests?"

"stcejbo kcatta ecriC!"

Circe looked confused at the strange words. "I'm not sure I know that one." She gasped when she saw the table flying directly at her. It shattered upon hitting her body, but it did no physical damage to the sorceress. She glared down into the audience, and saw the three heroes. Zatanna lifted another table with her wand, and slammed it at her. However once again it did no damage.

"Insolent trickster!" Circe growled, "You dare to strike-"she was interrupted when a chair collided with her back. "You dare to strike-"she was struck by a blast of energy to her chest, making her stumble back a little. "You dare to strike-"A tablecloth flew in for the side to smother the sorceress, but this only added to her fury. "QUIT IT!" she roared as she yanked it off her, but then she widened her eyes. "Oh, no." she didn't even try to avoid the grand piano that struck her and blew her further back the stage.

As the heroes approached the stage, the piano began to glow with purple energy, and it exploded into a giant cloud of green smoke. As the smoke fade, Circe was floating above them, wearing her usual teal outfit. The sorceress first glared at the heroes in a fit of rage, and then turned to the group of men behind her.

"Well?" Circe demanded. "Defend your mistress." She raised her arms and enveloped each man in purple energy. They all grunted and squirmed, until they were forced onto all fours as their form began to change. A split second later, the men had turned into various animals, all of which growled at the heroes either through their razor-sharp teeth, tusk, claws, or horns.

"Aw, great. More animals." Comment Beacon as she, Batman, and Zatanna got into the fighting stance. The rabid animals each gave loud roars as they pounced at the heroes.

* * *

**Gotham Butchery**

The transformed Amazon continued to run throughout the slaughterhouse, desperately trying to find an exit. Finally, at long last, she found the gate that leads to the outside, and quickly pulled out all the stops. However what she failed to notice were the three butchers working at the assembly line.

"Whoa! Loose meat." One of them called out. Then they all flung themselves at the Diana, pinning her to the ground. The pig might've been strong enough to handle one large butcher, but three of them at once was simply too much.

"That'll do pig." Another butcher worked to bind the pig's legs while the other kept her pinned to the ground.

"Good job, boys." Said to the butcher who had previously chased her, after making sure the bonds were secure. Two butchers carried over to the conveyer belt.

"One plate of bacon of coming up." Announced one of the butchers, and both of them threw the pig onto the conveyer belt.

Diana squealed, and struggled all she could to break the bonds holding as the conveyer belt carried to an opening in the wall. Long strips of rubber blocked the view to the other. Therefore she couldn't tell what was behind it, but from the high-pitched whirring sounds coming from inside. The pig wanted to get as far away from it as she could.

* * *

**Myknonos**

The giant tiger had managed to pin Batman to the ground, and now was desperately trying to sink its teeth into the Dark Knight. The raging animal's saliva dripped onto Batman's chest as he used all of his strength to hold it at bay. With a loud grunt, the Detective kicked the tiger off of him. As the tiger landed a few feet away, more animal charged at Batman. Before they could trample him, Batman threw a series of smoke bombs to disorient the animals. As they lost consciousness, the Detective fled the scene by firing his grapple at some high vantage point.

Zatanna ducked as the Black Panther pounced onto the table behind her. However, she had no time to relax as she quickly ducked again when the animal made another attempt at her life. After landing on another table, the panther's yellow eyes seemed to bore into the magician's soul while it growled its sharp teeth at her. Then, out of nowhere, a bright blue bubble formed around the panther, and encased the giant feline. It slashed at the bubble was its claws, but it was proven to be useless as the bubble showed no sign of damage.

Zatanna turned behind her to see Beacon floating overhead, her hands outstretched and glowing with energy.

"Z, now's your chance." The Halfa said. Zatanna nodded and glared at the trapped panther, which was still clawing frantically at Beacon's energy barrier. The magician raised her wand, and gave it a wave.

"elbat mrof egac!"

At her command, the table underneath the animal moved and twisted as if it was being carried by an invisible wind. Then in a bright flash, the table transformed into a giant steel cage. It fell to the ground with a loud thud as Beacon released her hold on her shield. The Panther crashed onto the floor of the cage, and was knocked unconscious. Zatanna slouched over as she sighed with exhaustion, Beacon hovered herself lower to the ground, and turned to see Batman landing to the ground in front of the stage.

"Come on!" She called out, she then flew forward as Zatanna quickly followed her.

The two female heroes regrouped with Batman as he glared at Circe, who had been lying sideways in the air ever since the fight began.

"You three are beginning to remind me of Sisyphus after a hard day pushing his boulder up the mountain." She smirked while she rested her hand on the side of her face. "But me? I could keep this up all night." She finished as she floated upright, and raise her hands above her head. Purple energy began to spark as she prepared to take matters in her own hands.

Beacon and Zatanna anticipated the sorceress' attack. Batman, however, raised his arms to all of them.

"Wait," he instructed, "it seems that magic always has a price." Beacon eyed the Dark Knight curiously, having no idea where he was going with this. Circe must've been thinking along the same lines, because she frowned.

"And you point is?" Circe questioned

Batman lowered his arms; spoke in his usual calm voice. "What would I have to give to make you lift your spell on Diana?"

Beacon widened her eyes, then stalked right up to Batman's side, and grabbed his arm. "Batman, do you have any idea what you're doing?" she demanded. The Dark Knight turned to her for a moment, before gently lifting her hand off his arm with his own. Beacon's mouth formed a sad line as she took a step away from him. Then Batman focused his attention back to Circe.

"Well, now you're getting interesting." The sorceress remarked, sounding complete intrigued. She lowered herself in front of the three heroes, and walked closer to them. "I want something from you that's very precious. Something you've worked very hard to conceal." Beacon and Zatanna looked in fear between Batman and Circe. Him making a deal with the sorceress was bad enough, but Circe's demands sounded completely awful; Batman has worked to conceal numerous things throughout his life, Beacon couldn't even imagine what Circe wanted exposed.

"Something when gone," she continued, "you could never regain; _something _shattering." Batman's eyes began to narrow his eyes at Circe's words, until they were shut completely. Whether it was from shame, or something else, nobody could tell for sure.

* * *

A bright spotlight shined on the grand piano as Beacon started to play the slow song. A smile was etched on her face as she moved her fingers elegantly from key to key. However, she wasn't the main entertainment tonight. Further down the stage, another spotlight shined, perfectly filling the man with light as the beams were absorbed in his dark clothing.

_"Am I blue?" _Batman sang, _"Am I blue? Ain't these tears in my eyes telling you?"_

_"Am I blue? You'd be too, if each plan with your man done fell through."_

Over towards the back of the amphitheater, Zatanna grinned as her friends performed. Tears of joy streamed from her eyes as she listened to Batman's deep, yet completely mesmerizing voice. She pulled out a handkerchief and silently wiped her tears. Then she handed the cloth over to Circe, who stood next to her, and was trying very hard not to sob.

_"There was a time I was your only one." _Batman continued. "But now I'm the sad and lonely one…"

"_Beautiful._"Circe whispered.

"And you'll keep you part of the bargain?" asked Zatanna.

"A deal's a deal." Confirmed the sorceress, then she looked at the magician. "He can stop now."

Zatanna smiled and shook her head. "Not on your _life_."

* * *

**Gotham Butchery**

The pig continued to struggle as she moved through the rubber strips. A few seconds later, a bright light shined from the other side. As the light vanished, Wonder Woman burst through the wall and snapped the rope around her wrists. The four butchers looked at the Amazon in disbelief, and then in fear as they turned on the spot, and ran for their lives. When they reached the door and pulled the gate up, they were trampled by a stampeding herd of pigs.

As Wonder Woman stared at the swarm of pigs that fill the factory floor, her memory jogged back to the one that did this to her.

"_Circe._" She growled. Then Wonder Woman flew out of the factory, and soared through the sky.

* * *

**Myknonos**

Applause filled the amphitheater as Batman and Beacon walked of stage, their performance have granted them a standing ovation, and most of the audience has shed a plentiful amount of tears. The two met up with Zatanna, who grinned happily at them both.

"You two were _absolutely _wonderful," she complimented.

Beacon smiled and her cheeks turned red. "Thanks," she looked at Batman, "but _you _deserve most of the credit." Batman just silently stared at the Halfa.

"By the way," Zatanna began, causing Batman to look back at her. "Why'd you pick _that_ song?"

"Remember when Penguin tried to kidnap that singer?" asked the Dark Knight.

"Wicky whats-his-name?" Zatanna answered vaguely. "So?"

"I spent a month on stakeout," explained Batman. "must've heard that song a hundred times."

Beacon and Zatanna exchanged smiles to one another, and then turned back to the Detective. "Is there anything you can't do?" asked the magician.

"There's one thing I've never been very good at," Batman replied, "Saying thank you," he smiled and looked at both woman. "Both of you." Zatanna and Beacon's grin grew wide upon hearing Batman's words. The Halfa walked closer and wrapped her arms around him. Batman reacted slightly at the embrace.

"Okay, okay." He said a little uncomfortably. Beacon chuckled and let go.

"I think we should head back," the Halfa suggested. "Diana's gonna want an explanation."

She and Zatanna turned to head out when Batman stopped. "Wait," the two looked back at him curiously, "let's keep this between ourselves."

Both women raised an eyebrow. "So, let me get this straight," Beacon began, "You don't want Diana to find out what you did for her?"

Batman stared impassively at both of them, Beacon and Zatanna looked at each other for a moment, and then the magician shrugged. "My lips are sealed."

"Okay, I won't say anything either." Beacon confirmed.

* * *

**Watchtower**

"And truthfully, it's still pretty much of a blur to me." Wonder Woman shrugged as she and Batman walked along the hall of the Justice League headquarters. Zatanna and Beacon had decided to head back to their respective homes, and therefore didn't use the Watchtower's teleportation system. Wonder Woman turned to Batman. "Did I miss anything?"

Batman raised an eyebrow. "Not really," was his vague response. "The important thing is you're safe."

Wonder Woman smiled at the man. "Yeah," she said softly as she faced forward again. "Of course, that's not thing the only important thing."

Batman raised his eyebrow again, wondering what the Amazon meant by that. Although before he could ask, Wonder Woman began humming a familiar tune that made him stop in his tracks. Wonder Woman paid no attention to him as she continued to walk down the hall, rounded a corner, and disappeared from sight. What lingered, however, was the tune that echoed off the walls.

Batman stared blankly for a moment, before raising a corner of his mouth.

* * *

***Sigh* wow I've written a lot for this one. Over 10,000 words, but hey; it's worth it to do it for you guys. I personally liked this episode because it served as sort of a comic relief in the series. There were still action scenes mind you, but most the episode was focused on the relationships of the characters.**

**Another thing; I would like to state the obvious and say that I don't own "Am I blue". That honor belongs to Harry Akst and Grant Clarke. **

**Also I dropped a hint that Rachel's ex-girlfriend; Ariella was a practitioner of magic in a previous chapter, so to me it makes sense that Rachel would have learned something from her, but that doesn't mean Rachel is a magic-user.**

**If you haven't noticed, I've made changes to the last chapter, I made it so that it would tie in more of Rachel's old life. All thanks to Jaguarspot's tips. Hope you'll enjoy it. **

**Thank you once again for reading my story, and I'll see you all next time.**


	11. In-between Chapter 2

**I don't own anything DC or DP**

**Thank you all for following and favorite-ing. Now let's get on with it! **

Beacon of Justice

In-Between Chapter 2

**Gotham City**

"I don't think you have anything to worry about, Kara," Batgirl told her best friend as she sat on the Girl of Steel's shoulders while she carried them through the air. "Just take it easy and enjoy it."

"Mmm, I guess you're right," Supergirl complied, with a slight frown, "but I guess I just can't help feeling nervous."

"Well, of course you feel that way," stated Batgirl, "this is a new experience for you. It'll be okay though; Rach was here a couple of days ago, and she seemed pretty excited for this weekend."

Supergirl's mind drifted back to a few days ago, when Rachel Robertson, who also goes by the codename: Beacon, had told her about the mission she had the last time she was in Gotham. Although she left out some of the details, saying it's out of respect for Batman and Wonder Woman. As Supergirl continued to think about the Halfa, her thoughts carried her back to that night when Rachel had asked her out on a date on the coming Saturday, and then planted a soft kiss on her cheek before flying away. In all honesty, Supergirl was looking forward to it with all her heart, but she supposed that fear of the unknown was getting the better of her.

"What'd you think I should wear?" she asked, coming back into reality.

"Hm," Batgirl rubbed her chin, "Not really sure. Just whatever you feel like I guess."

Supergirl nodded in response.

"I mean, it can't be _that _much different than dating a guy." She stopped when she saw the beam of light flashed into the sky, lighting up at large portion of clouds above them.

"The Bat-signal…" she looked down at the Girl of Steel, "Kara, head to GCPD."

"What do I like, your chauffeur?" Supergirl retorted with a smug look.

"Just do it." Batgirl ordered exasperatedly.

After a big eye roll, Supergirl swerved in the air, and sped towards the source of the light.

* * *

**Gotham Police Department**

The slight breeze was enough to whip the two police officers' trench coats along as they stood on the rooftop. The man standing directly next to the large spotlight with a giant silhouette of a bat had white hair, thick, horned-rimmed glasses, and a thick white mustache. Directly behind him were a man and woman. The man was rather large, and wore a brown trench-coat. His black hair was compressed under his fedora hat, and his black eyes were taking everything in. The man just simply munched on a doughnut as he surveyed the buildings surrounding the office. The woman standing next to him had decided to brave the elements with just her long-sleeved black shirt, and the harness that attached her weapon to her body. She just focused her eyes directly on to the older man's back, ignoring the chewing sounds that were entering her ear drums.

The man in the front turned his head back. "Can you chew _any _louder, Bullock?" questioned James Gordon, commissioner of the Gotham PD.

"Sorry, Commish," Harvey Bullock replied, after swallowing a bite the deep-fried dessert. "The doughnuts in the office had gotten kinda stale."

"Then _why_ did you eat them?" asked Sonia Alcana, turning her eyes to glare at her partner. "It's completely disgusting."

"Can't argue with you there." a voice came from their right. The three officers whipped their heads to see Batgirl appearing out of the shadows, her cape folded around her body like a cloak. Following behind her closely was Supergirl, her brightly colored costume seemed completely out of place in the sea of dark and gray that was mostly Gotham city.

"Where're Batman and Robin?" asked Commissioner Gordon.

"Batman's on League Business," Was all Batgirl told them, "and Robin's out for a while." In reality, she had no idea where Batman was either; one minute he was in the cave, sitting at his computer. The next he sprung out of his chair, and told her to cover for him. Then he called the Watchtower for teleportation. Robin, on the other hand, wasn't exactly unavailable, but recently he contracted a terrible cold after an encounter with Mr. Freeze, and was confined to his bed-rest by Alfred, and in addition, Batman had forbidden him from going on missions until he got better. All In all, saying that the Boy Wonder was angry was an understatement.

"So, she called me for help." Supergirl spoke up.

"Oh, how I _love _it when history repeats itself." Bullock chimed in. "Let's hope you two will get to job better than last time." Sonia elbowed his large midsection, while Supergirl scowled at him. He referred to the time when she and Batgirl first teamed-up to fight Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Livewire. Back then, the big detective had criticized them for their inexperience.

"Hey! We took care of it." Supergirl exclaimed, with slight raise in volume. "Why don't you-"She stopped when Batgirl put an arm in front of her.

"Now what do you need from us, Commissioner?" Batgirl addressed her unknowing father. Even though she had spent years watching Batman talk to the Commissioner, it still made her uncomfortable to be so close, and yet so far away from her father.

"There have been several reports of robbery in pharmacies throughout Gotham." The Commissioner began.

"We know," Batgirl told the officers, "We've been working on it."

Sonia gave a small cough to call their attention to her, and then she pulled out a forensics' bag and handed it to Batman's protégé. "Here," she started, "We found this at the latest pharmacy that was hit."

Batgirl took the bag, and took a good look at the evidence. Inside the bag was a large dark green scale, Batgirl recognized the shape of that scale anywhere, but something about it didn't look right.

"Croc…" She whispered with narrowed eyes.

"When at least we know who we're after," Supergirl looked at the bright side.

Batgirl nodded, and gave the evidence back to Sonia. "We'll look into it."

With that, she turned on the spot, fired her grapple at another building, and then swung out into the night with Supergirl flying right beside her.

* * *

After they got a few blocks away from the Police Department. Batgirl climbed back onto Supergirl's shoulders and they soared high in the air again.

"So how bad is this Croc guy?" asked Supergirl.

Batgirl looked away for a second, her expression slightly grim. "He's a mutant that has given Batman a couple of hard times." She explained. "He was born with reptilian DNA, has super-strength, and can sustain himself underwater for long periods of time."

"Mmm, good thing you have me here to back you up, huh Babs?" Supergirl smirked at her friend.

"It certainly doesn't hurt," replied Batgirl with a smile, then her tone became serious again, "but something about that scale didn't look right."

Supergirl raised a curious eyebrow. "What was the matter with it?"

Batgirl looked at her friend. "It definitely _was _Croc's scale, but it was bigger and greener than his previous ones. "

"Mm, wonder how that happened." Supergirl pondered.

"Don't know, so we'll need to be extra careful." Batgirl advised. "Let's not get overconfident until we know what we're dealing with."

Supergirl nodded, and they flew in silence for a moment. Then she looked back at her best friend. "You got that from Rachel, didn't you?"

Batgirl met Supergirl's eyes, and shrugged. "Your girlfriend gave me some good advice on our last mission together." She had stayed true to her word about being more careful; with both of her usual partners preoccupied, she decided to call her best friend for help. Now seeing as how they were on their way to fight a metahuman, Batgirl was glad that she had done so.

Supergirl blinked at Batgirl's response, and then looked away as her cheek flushed red. Technically, Rachel wasn't her girlfriend yet, but the term was starting to grow on her. Her thoughts were interrupted when a sound entered her ears. She turned her head and saw a large warehouse building, using her enhanced visions; she saw a large figure smashing open several glass cases, and then rummaging for something.

"There," she pointed out. "Let's go." She sped off towards the building; Batgirl had to grab hold of her cape to prevent herself from falling off.

* * *

**Pharmaceutical Laboratory**

The large reptilian criminal known as Killer Croc grabbed a handful of small pill bottles, and threw them into his gym bag; which was already brimming with the same drugs. The criminal was so focused on his task that he failed to notice the two shadows stalk past him.

"Waylon Jones, aka Killer Croc." A woman's voice echoed from behind him. "It isn't like you to be stealing drugs." Croc paused for a moment, and then growled as he turned around, revealing a pair bright yellow eyes, with red slits for pupils, and no lips to cover his jaw-full of pointed teeth. The criminal surveyed the room, and saw nothing. Although before he turned back around, a figure landed in front of him.

"You?" he asked with narrowed eyes. His voice was hoarse and deep; it sounded more like growls than words. "Where's Bats?"

"Busy," Batgirl answered flatly, "so you're gonna have to make do with us." As if taking that as cue; Supergirl floated down for the ceiling, arms crossed, and landed next to Batgirl.

The Girl of Steel sniffed the air for a moment, and the waved her hand back and forth in disgust. "Ugh, man! When was the last time you took a shower?" she groaned.

Killer Croc gave another harsh growl at the two young heroes. Batgirl, however, just stared at the criminal impassively. "What are you doing here, Croc?" she demanded. "What are you after?"

Croc ignored her questions, and instead raised his tail. In a blur of motion, he slammed it down at the two heroes, both of which had just barely managed to avoid it. The blow was stronger than they had anticipated, because the tiles underneath the tail were completely shattered, and an indent was clear visible on the floor.

"Well, that's new." Batgirl commented. Croc's tail confirmed her suspicions; while the criminal still had a tall, athletic physique the last time she saw him, now his body seemed to have doubled, or maybe even tripled, in size. His muscle mass has also increased, and his posture had become more slouched.

"Yeah, just going through some changes right now," he answered as he wrapped his tail around a silo. Then yanked it from its hinges and threw it at the two heroes. Supergirl floated aside while Batgirl dove out of the way, as she did so, Batgirl threw a set of batarangs at Croc. All of them imbedded themselves halfway into the criminal's chest. There was a moment of silence where Croc just stared at the projectiles, and then he just lazily brushed them off his reptilian skin.

Before he could look up again, a white-gloved fist slammed into his jaw, and then another one knocked his head to the other side. He recovered before Supergirl could throw another punch, and threw one of his own. The Girl of Steel whipped her body aside, grabbed Croc's outstretched arm, and flipped him onto the ground. Then she cocked her fist back, prepare to drive it home on Croc's face. Croc realized what she was planning a second before she executed it. He wrapped his tail around Supergirl's throat, lifted her off the ground as she squirmed. Then Croc slammed her onto the floor, and threw her to the wall, sending her crashing through to the other side.

Batgirl pulled out a device from her utility belt, and aimed it at Croc. Two probes attached to wires shot out and struck the monster in the chest, then flows of electricity coursed throughout his body. After his initial roar of pain, Croc viscously yanked on the wires, causing Batgirl to gasp as she was sent flying towards him. Luckily, Batgirl recovered enough to flip herself in midair, and slam her boot into Croc's face. The attack was proven to be ineffective when Croc managed to grab hold of her with one of his large and incredibly rough hands.

Croc brought his face closer to the struggling crime-fighter, and growled at her. Batgirl could smell the putrid odors in his breath, and her eyes began to water at the stench. The next thing she knew, she felt herself being thrown through the air, and soon felt glass shattering behind her. Then she felt gravity pulling her downwards, steadily gaining speed. Instinctively, she pulled out her grapple and aimed at the building. Although before she fired it, there was a blur and a _whoosh_, and then she feel herself being lift up in the air.

Batgirl smiled and turned to her savoir. "Thanks, Supergirl."

"See? You _are_ lucky to have me here." Supergirl smiled back.

Batgirl chuckled slightly before turning her attention back to the building. "Croc's getting away, can you see him?"

Supergirl narrowed her eyes for a moment. "Got him." She carried Batgirl back inside, and then they both ran down the halls to catch up with the escaping criminal.

* * *

**Building's inventory department**

Killer Croc sped down the aisles as fast as he could; his gym bag full of pharmaceutical drugs was slung onto his back. As he ran, he picked up a familiar scent in the air. Although before he could pinpoint the source of the scent, Supergirl rushed in and slammed him into the wall. The Girl of Steel refused to give him breathing room as she quickly pummeled his face with her fists.

"Thanks for making me smell like a sewer, you jerk!" She snarled sarcastically. "I have a date tomorrow!" she grabbed Croc's shoulders and threw him across the large room. The force was so powerful; the gym bag slipped off his shoulders and fell to the floor. Croc slammed into a stack of plastic drums, all of which spilt their container of water, either on floor or on him as he laid there on his hands and knees.

"Batgirl, now!" Supergirl barked, her loud voice echoing of the walls. From out of nowhere, Batgirl fired another shot from her stun-gun at Croc. This time the electricity was intensified thanks to the water. Croc let out an agonizing scream, before slumping, face-first onto the floor. A mixture of smoke and steam swirled into the air as the two heroes stared at their quarry. They exchanged smiles, and then gave each other a hopping high-five.

"YES!" they both exclaimed.

A couple of minutes later, Batgirl and Supergirl exited the building, with the latter dragging the still unconscious Killer Croc. They weren't worried about the criminal making an attempt at escape, Batgirl had the foresight to have him restrained with an anesthetic injection and suggested securing his arms and torso, as well as his ankles with a set of I-beams. This, of course, was all courtesy of the Girl of Steel.

"GCPD should be here any minute to pick Croc up and take him back to Arkham." Batgirl told her best friend.

"You sure you don't need any more of my help?" Supergirl asked with a little concern in her voice.

Batgirl smiled and shook her head. "You've helped plenty enough tonight. Besides, you've got a big day tomorrow, you should go get ready."

"Okay," Supergirl nodded, and she wrapped her arms around the other girl. Then they separated, and Supergirl flew off into the sky, heading back to the Kent farm.

"Tell me how it goes!" Batgirl called out, forming a circle over her mouth with her hands to amplify the sound. For clarification, she saw Supergirl give a wave with her hand before she flew too far for the naked-eye to see.

* * *

**Miami, the next day**

Rachel stared into a full-length mirror as she put outfit after outfit in front of her. "Hmm…" she mused to herself. "Yeah, I'm gonna have to try each one on."

On a normal day, Rachel wouldn't spend so much of her day deciding on what to wear. However the fact that she has been pulling clothing after clothing out of her closet shows that today was not, by any means, a normal day.

_But I don't have all day! Kara will be here in a couple of hours. _She thought hastily. The Halfa rubbed her chin as the gears in her brain started to work on a solution. Then she snapped her fingers, and focused her mind. Three duplicates of her faded into reality, and looked at her patiently. Afterwards, the duplicates each grabbed an outfit and started to put them on.

After a few minutes, Rachel's duplicates stood on line, and waited for the original to inspect them. As the Halfa walked down the line, she leaned in close to each one of her duplicates, studying every inch of their outfits.

"Mm-mm." she shook her head on the first duplicate's outfit. The duplicate's shoulders fell, and she made a pitiful, pouting expression. Rachel walked up to the next duplicate, and repeated the process. "Mm, maybe…" she pondered. The duplicate grinned and pumped her fists towards her body. Then she turned and quickly went to grab another outfit. Rachel walked up to her third duplicate, and had to squeeze her eyes shut and reopen them to make sure they were working correctly. "What is _this_?" she demanded. Her duplicate looked at the outfit she had on, then turned back at her original, and shrugged.

"You bought all of it." The duplicate blankly remarked.

"I would never wear them in this combination." She ranted. Then she grunted loudly and looked away from the duplicate as she crossed her arms. "It's like you don't even _know _me." The duplicate blinked for a second, and then threw her arms up as she stalked away to grab another outfit.

While she had put a lot of thought into her date with Kara, Rachel admittedly still felt anxious; she just wanted everything to go smoothly. The only experience the Halfa had with dates had been with Ariella, and even though they were a blast while they lasted, they've only had a handful of them.

After three more rounds of inspections, Rachel finally made a decision on her outfit. She twirled in front of the mirror as she took in the red sleeveless blouse, white denim jean shorts, and silver flats.

"Perfect." She commented with a bright smile.

She turned her head to the door a second before there was a knock. She took a deep breath and moved towards the door. She pushed the handle down, and pulled the door open. Upon seeing who was standing there, the Halfa expressed a wide, blissful grin.

Standing at her door was Kara. She wore a short light blue denim skirt, and a white shirt underneath a light-blue denim jacket. She didn't have any make-up; her natural look was perfect in Rachel's opinion. The Halfa flung her arms around Kara, and after a slight hesitation, she returned the hug as well.

"Wow, Kara, you look beautiful." Rachel admired, when they broke apart.

Kara smiled and blushed at the compliment. "Thanks," she replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. Then, she too admired Rachel's change of clothing; the sleeveless blouse and short jeans made the smoothness of her skin and the definition in her muscles very clear. Kara supposed that training for ten years would've had that kind of effect on Rachel's body. "You look beautiful too, Rachel."

Rachel widened her grin, and her cheeks also turned pink. "Thank you." They stared at each other for a moment before she grabbed her purse and hung it across her shoulders.

"So, you ready to go?" she asked as she stepped out of her house

"You bet," Kara answered excitedly, but then her expression grew curious, "uh, so, where are exactly are we going?"

"Don't worry, I have it all planned out," she said with the strictest confidence, "and they're all within walking distance."

Kara nodded and the two girls started to walk down the street. Before too far though, Rachel stopped.

"Rach? What's the matter?" Kara asked, concerned.

"I almost forgot," Rachel reached into her purse and pulled out a black compact, the same compact that Clark Kent had given her all those months ago. She opened it, and started to apply the makeup over her scar. A couple of seconds later, Rachel stowed the compact back into her purse, and turned to Kara. "I can't have people making the connection." Kara merely shrugged as they continued walking again.

* * *

Their walk ended when they arrived at the restaurant a couple of minutes later. It was nice place; it was quiet, and had a great view of the beach out of its many large windows. As they sat at their table, they talked about various topics, including Kara helping Batgirl in Gotham. The Halfa propped her elbows onto the table, and rested her chin on her interlocked fingers, taking in every word.

"So that Bullock guy's been giving you a hard time too, huh?" The Halfa inquired.

"Yeah, I remember watching him call Babs and I rookies on TV," Kara shrugged, "but to his credit; he did say that we showed potential."

"And judging from how you took Croc down," Rachel added as she placed her hand over Kara's, making the blonde to look at her blushingly, "it just goes to show how much you've improved." Kara smiled at the Rachel's words, and Rachel happily smiled back. For the rest of their meal, they ate, talked, and laughed; both girls were simply enjoying each other's company.

* * *

After the restaurant, Rachel took Kara to the ice cream parlor that she'd always made the effort to stop by. Kara had just ordered her dessert plain, but after Rachel had gotten hers, she added a quite a few condiments to her ice cream.

"You weren't kidding when you said you really love ice cream." Kara remarked jokingly, while they sat and ate at their booth.

"Yeah, well," Rachel began after pressing her spoon between her lips and pulling it out. "It's always been a tradition of mine to have a scoop or two after a mission, or to celebrate some special occasion."

"Ah" Kara nodded.

"But the thing is," the Halfa continued, "I didn't use to add toppings to my ice cream, I just picked it up recently."

"Oh?"

Rachel's eyes fell slightly before she pointed to the various toppings on her dessert with her spoon. "See, Robin loved his with caramel, Jonah preferred his with sprinkles, and A-Ariella always loved to have marshmallows with hers."

Kara stared the other girl in amazement. Apparently Rachel had been so close to her loved ones that she'd even kept onto something as minute as what ice cream toppings they liked as an honor in their name. "That's… that's… wow." Kara couldn't even find the right words to describe how she felt. "Y-you must've really loved them." She finished after clearing her throat.

Rachel smiled before speaking again. "With all my heart, but I'm not thinking about that tonight; because tonight is about us."

"Us." Kara repeated.

* * *

**Miami Beach**

The two girls left the parlor and made their way back to the beach. By now, the sun was beginning to make its descent. They walked along the shoreline with their shoes in their hands while the water washed back and forth underneath their feet.

As they walked, Kara thought about how her life had changed. She remembered all that time she'd spent talking about boys with Barbara, she'd always thought that she would eventually fall for a man that'll make her whole. Never had she imagined that it would come to this. The Kryptonian reached over and held the Halfa's hand; their fingers had previously brushed against each other a few times, but nobody held on until now. Rachel looked Kara in the eye for a moment, before smiling and intertwining their fingers.

The girls walked hand-in-hand along the beach for several more seconds, and then Kara broke the silence. "Come on, Rach," she said as she pulled her along.

"Where're we going?" asked the Halfa, confused.

Rachel got her answer when Kara led them to the side of a tall skyscraper, then she turned to the Halfa.

"Can you make us invisible so people won't see us?" she asked.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. Then tighten her grip on Kara's hand, she and Kara vanished from sight. The Halfa felt herself being lifted into air, and when they finally touched down on the top, Kara set them down on the skyscraper's helipad. Rachel made them both visible again when she landed onto the platform.

"I thought we could watch the sunset from a higher place." Kara admitted.

Rachel grinned at her and nodded. The two girls walked over and leaned on the railing, neither letting go of each other's hand. They stared mesmerizingly as the large glowing orb continued to makes its descent towards the horizon, filling the sky with its orange-red glow.

When the sun had set half-way into the horizon, Rachel thought of another idea, sadly, she had to let of Kara's hand to reach into her purse. Kara had no idea what the Halfa was up to as she just watched her pull out her phone and a mini-speaker. Then Rachel walked over the center of the helipad, and set her devices down. She tapped the screen on her phone, and the sound of an acoustic guitar sound began to ring out of the speaker.

Kara still had no idea where this was going as Rachel approached her and extended her hand.

"May I have this dance, Miss Kent?" asked the ghost-girl.

Kara blinked and looked between the Rachel's hand and eyes for a moment. "B-but I don't-"

"That's okay," Rachel interrupted with a warm smile, "just let me lead."

Kara returned the smile and slowly accepted Rachel's hand. After Rachel had pulled them to the center of the platform, she rested her other hand on Kara's waist while the latter held onto her arm, then as the words of the song began to ring out, both girls started to move in a simple waltz.

_Well, you done done me and you bet I felt it. _

_I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted. _

_I fell right through the cracks. _

_Now I'm trying to get back…._

"You know, I never expected that my life would lead to this." Kara confessed as they whirled and twirled around the helipad. "Babs and I would always talk about boys, and… I'd always expected that I would fall for one."

Rachel simply met Kara's eyes. "Life's funny like that, isn't it?"

"I guess," Kara answered, "but after today, I get that it doesn't matter one way or the other."

"I'm glad to hear it." the Halfa smiled. "Now dip."

"What-"Kara let out a small gasp when she felt her body being leaned backwards, instinctively she clutched onto Rachel's hand and arm. The Halfa winced slightly at the Kryptonian's vise-like grip as she lowered her until the tips of her blond hair brushed the platform.

_…And nothing's gonna stop me but divine intervention. _

_I reckon, it's again my turn. _

_To win some or learn some…_

"N-next time," Kara panted slightly, "can you give me more time to react, please?"

"Sorry," Rachel said, with a small laugh, "and thank you."

Kara looked at Rachel in confusion. "For what?"

Rachel's eyes fell slightly. "When I first got here; I was ready for everything to just…_stop_." she pulled the Kryptontian back to her feet, and led Kara in a twirl, "but what I didn't know, was that I would find that someone to help me live on." She pulled Kara closer until their faces were merely inches apart; Kara had to put her hand on Rachel's chest in order to prevent their heads from colliding with each other. For a minute that seemed like an hour, the two girls stared at each other, pale blue eyes meeting the emerald green ones. Rachel felt the temperature in her cheeks rise as her heart pounded against her ribcage. The Halfa never realized how truly beautiful Kara was, never took the time to take in her free and flowing blonde hair, her awe-inducing blue eyes, and her perfect, full red lips. Mustering up her courage, Rachel brushed a loose lock of hair away from Kara's face, and leaned in closer. It only took a split second for their lips to meet each other. The kiss was soft, but intense. Rachel was surprised, bullets can do no damage to her, and yet her skin was so soft and smooth to the touch. Kara felt waves of warmth course through her entire being as she and Rachel locked lips.

"And I believe with all my heart," Rachel continued, when they broke apart. "that someone is _you_."

Kara stared at her with bulging eyes, completely at a loss for words. Rachel had just told her how special she was to her, and she had proved that point earlier with a kiss. For the Halfa to say that Kara was that special someone that guided her out of the deep, dark abyss…

Kara smiled as she felt the tears began to form in her eyes. Rachel's eyes also began quivering upon seeing Kara's expression. The Kryptonian held onto the back of the Halfa's head, feeling her soft brown hair between her fingers. Then she pulled Rachel in and they kissed once again. Rachel could feel Kara's arms slowly wrap around her waist. It took a second for Rachel to realize that her feet were no longer planted on solid ground. She wasn't worried though, Kara's strength was more than enough to hold them both up indefinitely.

Even after the sun had long been replaced by the moon and stars, and long after the song had ended. Rachel and Kara just hovered in the air over the helipad, rotating in place ever so slightly. At that moment, all that mattered to the two of them was each other, they tuned everything else out. Well, everything, but a set of words.

_I'm yours._

* * *

Unfortunately, unlike Kara and her ghost-form, Rachel still needed air. If she didn't get any soon, she would be on the verge of blacking out. They broke off the kiss, and gently pressed their foreheads together. Both girls gazed into each other's eyes as they worked to catch their breath; Rachel from oxygen deprivation, Kara from giddiness.

"That…that was…_amazing!_" Rachel stammered between breaths. She could feel the smile on her face, and the warmness in her cheeks seemed to have increased somewhat. "You… were amazing."

Even with minimal lighting, Rachel could still see Kara's shy smile, as well as her blush. "Really?" she asked innocently. "I-I've never really done this before."

"_Yes._" Rachel replied with confidence as they slowly floated back to the platform. When they landed, Rachel took the opportunity to steal another quick kiss before adding. "You're a natural at this."

Kara's eyes turned timidly away for Rachel. Her smile, though, was still absolutely stunning. Rachel turned her head to gaze out into the horizon. The full moon was out and the stars were shinning in the night. The surface of the calm, smooth ocean was a perfect mirror image of the sky. The Halfa's smile grew bigger when she turned back to the blond Kryptonian before her.

"We should head back." The Halfa suggested.

"Okay," Kara nodded.

* * *

After retrieving her phone and mini-speaker, Rachel and Kara used the cover of darkness to fly back to Rachel's home. After phasing both of them through the roof, the two girls found themselves in Rachel's piano room. As soon as Rachel let go of Kara, the blonde quickly clutched her arms and started to shiver violently.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Rachel said sweetly after a light chuckle. "Here." She pulled the Kryptonian against her own body. Instantly, Kara felt her body heat return, and she ceased her shivering a few seconds later.

"It's okay." She whispered as she wrapped her own arms around the Halfa.

"So, did you have a good time?"

Kara looked right into Rachel's eyes. "No."

Rachel blinked with a mixture of hurt and confusion.

"I had a _great_ time." Kara finished with a gentle smirk. "We should do this again."

Rachel stared at Kara, before smiling. "You can bet on it."

They closed their eyes and pressed their lips together again. For both of them, tonight was no less that absolutely perfect. Everything seemed to have fallen into just the right places.

"By the way," Rachel began, after a thought crossed her mind. "Now that you're out of the closet, how are you going to break the news to everyone?"

Kara widened her eyes, besides Barbara, and maybe Ma Kent, and from what Rachel had told her: Batman and Wonder Woman, hardly anyone else knew about _any _of this. "I-I have no idea." She admitted. "I've never even thought about it."

"Well, you don't have to worry so much about it," the Halfa assured, "you can just tell them when you're ready."

With their discussion now turning serious, Rachel and Kara separated from each other's embrace. Kara was still deep in the thought. "Yeah I guess so," she turned to Rachel, "how did you break the news?"

Rachel's eye turned to the ceiling as she thought for a moment. "Well, where I come from, no one really cares anymore." She explained. "So, my friends and family happily accepted it; they were just happy that I was happy."

Kara grinned at Rachel and nodded, finally feeling reassured. Then her expression became serious again. "Okay, now aside from that, we should discuss a few things before we go any further."

Rachel raised an eyebrow curiously. "Okay, what'd you have in mind?"

"First, I'm going to have to let Clark know as soon as possible." Kara paused as she felt a sudden tinge of anxiety. "I don't know how he's going to take this."

Rachel frowned, and took hold of Kara's hands. "You want me to be there with you?"

Kara bit her lower lip. Having Rachel there could be a nice support, but there could also be complications. "No, I'll tell him, alone. I don't want to make it harder than it needs to be."

"Okay," Rachel nodded.

Kara nodded in return and continued. "Second, when we're on the Watchtower, we'll have to focus on work, and behave as professionally as we can."

"So, no fraternizing." Rachel paraphrased.

"Exactly." Kara confirmed. "Thanks for understanding, Rach."

"No problem, Kara." Rachel replied. "This isn't my first rodeo, you know."

"Are you comparing me to a _bull_?" accused the Kryptontian.

Rachel laughed. "No, of course not." She reassured. "For one thing: you're way stronger than a bull."

"You bet I am." Kara boasted with a smirk.

Rachel let out another laugh. "Now," she said. She let go of Kara's hands and moved towards her piano, "have a seat." She sat down on the bench and patted the spot next to her.

"Why?" Kara asked curiously.

"Because I'm gonna play you a song, silly." Rachel answered matter-of-factly.

Kara sat down next to the Halfa as she lifted the cover over the keyboard. Then Rachel took a deep breath, and started to play. Normally the sound would be sweet even in a huge, packed, theater. However, thanks to Kara's super-hearing, the sweetness was amplified significantly, but the sound wasn't painful to her enhanced ears. Instead, it was soothing and she didn't want it to stop.

Kara leaned her head on Rachel's shoulder as the Halfa continued to press down on the keyboard. Both of them were lost in the music. What a way to end a perfect night.

* * *

**Well, well, well. Things have officially started for the two lovely ladies. But they do know that they can't keep their relationship a secret, I'm not trying to go for a Romeo and Juliet thing here. However this does raised a concern; how is big Boy Scout Superman gonna react when he finds out his little cousin has started dating a girl? We'll just have to wait and see.**

**For those of you that don't know, the fight between Croc, Batgirl and Supergirl was inspired by the fairly recent "Son of Batman" animated movie. I thought it was great, and it was awesome to finally see Damian animated in a film. **

**On another note, thank you once again Jaguarspot for proofreading. It is amazing and a little embarrassing to realize how many things I've messed up. It's real nice to have another set of eyes out there. By the way, thank you for the suggestions.**

**Now I'm sure you know that I am _not _Jason Mraz. So "I am yours" doesn't belong to me. I just thought it was a great song to use for the slow dance.**

**With all that said and done; I will see you all next time. If you have any comments, you know where to found me, not really, but y'know… **


	12. Chapter 10

**I don't owe Justice League Unlimited or Danny Phantom**

**Now let the next chapter commence! Release the Kraken! **

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 10

**Watchtower**

The gym in the Justice League's headquarters was by no means an average gym. The weights resting on the racks ranged from several pounds to several tons. The treadmills had the capability to go several Mach speeds. The various punching bags and dummies were made with reinforced fibers that could withstand the punishment of the heroes who had the gift of super-strength.

Sweat dripped down Supergirl's face as she pounded the punching bag in front of her over and over. She made small grunting noises as she drove the bag backwards. In the few weeks since her date with Rachel, the Girl of Steel had been in a very cheerful mood, and she could hardly remember the last time she was so happy.

Unfortunately, today was a day when Supergirl wasn't feeling happy. Today she was frustrated, and she was taking it out on the punching bag. With a loud grunt, she straight-punched the heavy bag hard enough for it slide on its hinges across the gym. It would've kept going if it wasn't for her half human/ half ghost girlfriend.

"You want to talk about it?" asked Beacon, as she walked to Supergirl, pushing the bag as she did do.

Supergirl let out a slow sigh. "I don't get it," she admitted, "everything was going so well."

Beacon looked at her alien girlfriend. "I think he just needs some time, Kara."

Before Supergirl could respond, Beacon's voice came from another side of the gym.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, Kara." Supergirl and Beacon turned towards the new voice, and saw another Beacon doing bicep curls by the dumbbells.

"He'll come around before you know it," said yet another Beacon as she ran on a treadmill in another part of the gym.

Beacon smiled at her duplicates. When she and Supergirl first got to the gym, the Halfa had created them so she could kill multiple birds with one stone, getting a decent work-out, while also, more importantly, comforting her girlfriend.

Supergirl smiled longingly at the Halfa. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Which one?" all three Beacons asked in unison.

The blond Kryptonian laughed. "All of you." She replied, feeling a lot better.

However as she started to hit the bag again, her face fell into a slight snarl. "But sometimes," she said, "I wish I could just smack that hard head of his."

* * *

**Metropolis: a few days ago**

_It was a bright sunny day as Kara floated above the giant planetoid above the Daily Planet; the blond Kryptonian was dressed in her uniform as she anxiously waited for her older cousin to arrive. She knew she'd eventually have to do this, but that didn't make things any easier. She turned her head when she heard the familiar whoosh coming somewhere in the distance, and saw a figure flying towards her. She sighed, _well, moment of truth,_ she thought. A split second later, she found herself staring into crest of the House of El, and then as she moved her eyes up to look at Superman's face, her heart began to pound against her chest. _

_When Superman saw the look on his cousin's face, he furrowed his brow._

_"Kara? What's wrong?" asked the Man of Steel with clear concern. "Even on the phone you sounded like there was something bothering you." Supergirl previously called ahead to arrange a meeting, when Clark asked what the matter was, she just said that she wanted to go over everything in person._

_Kara's eyes fell as she felt her cheeks starting to get hot. "Clark, I-I have something to tell you." His cousin stuttered._

_"What is it?"_

_Kara bit her lower lip for a second, and then took a deep breath. _You can do this, Kara, you can do this. _She momently told herself. She tilted her head up to look her cousin fully in the eye._

_"You know how Rachel and I have been spending more time together recently?"_

_Superman raised an eyebrow at the question. "Um, I guess so," he answered with slight confusion, "Why? Did something happen between you two?"_

_"No," Kara replied immediately, "It's just we've gotten a lot… closer these past few weeks."_

_"So, you're like two best friends just hanging out." Her cousin hypothesized. "Like you'd always do with Barbara," he chuckled slightly, "then what's the issue here? I don't get why you're so nervous."_

_ Kara's blush was becoming more and more visual by the second, and her heart was now going into overdrive. "It's just… it's just…"_

_Superman floated closer to his follow Kryptonian, and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Kara, what are you not telling me?"_

_"Rachel and I are dating." Kara blurted out before she could stop herself._

_Silence plagued the two cousins as they stared at each other. Clark's eyes were so wide; they were threatening to fall out of their sockets. His hand slipped off of Kara's shoulder as he blinked at her._

_"Rachel and I have been seeing each other," Kara stated, there was now a sense of confidence in her voice. Like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders. "She's my girlfriend." She added._

_"Wait, wait, wait." Clark said quickly as he covered his eyes with his hand. Then when he lowered it, his voice became slow again. "So you're telling that you-you like-"_

_"Yes!" She interrupted with a slight rise in her tone of voice; as if she was irritated that Clark missed the obvious. _

_"Does anyone know about this?" asked the older Kryptonian._

_"Well," she knew that saying yes would be a lie, so she decided on the next best thing, "You're the first one I've told officially."_

_"Kara," Clark sighed. He moved his hand to cover his mouth as he looked away for a moment, after gathering his thoughts, he lowered his hand, and looked back at his cousin, "are you sure that you're not just confused?"_

_"What?" Kara asked, taken aback by what he had said, "Why would you say that?"_

_"Well, it's just," he began, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably, "I mean, you're still young, and maybe you're just going through a phase right now."_

_Kara blinked at what she had just heard. "Well, I'll let you know that I am _not _confused." She firmly told him. "I've found someone that I'm happy to be with." When Clark still looked unconvinced, she tried a different angle. "Besides, does it even matter anymore?"_

_Her cousin let out a slow sigh. "I-I don't know, Kara," he admitted, and then he looked away. "I honestly just don't know if I'm comfortable with…" he made a gesture with his hands, trying to find the right word. "_This._" He looked back at Kara._

_Another painful silence surrounded the two cousins, both were at a complete lost for words. Kara could not believe it. Her cousin, her only living relative, didn't approve of her being with the one she cared so much about. She thought she had known Clark better that that, but obviously she had been mistaken. Kara jerked her head away, refusing to look at his face. Clark, having seen the hurt in her eyes before she turned away, opened his mouth to speak again. Although before words escaped his throat, his communicator beeped in his ear._

_He sighed. "Just a sec," he pressed the button on the communicator, "Superman here." His face turned serious after whoever was on the other end had finished talking. "Got it. I'll be right there."_

_He turned back to Kara, who still didn't look at him. "I'm sorry, Kara. We-we'll talk about this later, okay?"_

_"Whatever." She grunted back. _

_Clark sighed. Then he turned on the spot, and soared off into the distance. Kara, however, just stayed floating above the Daily Planet, as the tears began to fall._

* * *

**Watchtower: Present**

"Well, I hate to play Devil's Advocate here," Beacon said, as Supergirl hit the punching bag with a right hook, "but honestly you can't just drop a bomb like that and expect people to immediately react the way you want them to."

Supergirl lowered her fists and sighed. "I know."

"But hey, look at it this way," Beacon said, putting a hand on Supergirl's shoulder. "At least there are others who support us."

Supergirl looked at her for a second, and then smiled a little as she remembered the events that took place after Metropolis.

After she flew back to the Kent house with tear-stricken eyes, Ma and Pa Kent quickly dropped what they were doing, and went to the poor girl. Even though Kara had originally wanted to lock herself away in her room, and bawl her eyes out, she realized it would only add more problems later. So after finishing a steaming cup of hot chocolate, Kara took a deep breath, and told the elder Kents about her relationship with Rachel, as well as their adopted son's reaction.

Initially, Jonathan and Martha simply stared at Kara with wide eyes. The blond Kryptonian was afraid that there was going to be a repeat of what happened in Metropolis, but instead, Martha inched forward, and wrapped her in a firm embrace.

After looking at both of her adoptive parents in confusion, Martha explained that they would always support her unconditionally, and then praised her for her bravery, and about Clark, they told that while he can be annoyingly stubborn, he has a good heart. He'll eventually grow comfortable with the idea. Kara smiled as fresh tears fell down her cheeks. Then she wrapped her arms around her adopted parents, and for a long time they just sat there in silence.

Things became easier since that night, and true to their arrangement, Rachel and Kara had still done their best to remain as professional as possible while on the Watchtower or on a mission. Although before long, rumors about the two of them had begun to spread amongst their fellow Leaguers, and occasionally, they would give both girls a wink, a smirk, a thumbs up, or a mixture of the three. No one seemed to have any issue with them being together, well _almost_. Since that day in Metropolis, Kara had had very little to no contact with her cousin, and every day she grew more and more frustrated as she was beginning to think he was deliberately avoiding her.

"So anyway," Beacon began, pulling Supergirl back to reality, "We still good for dinner tonight? I just tried this new recipe, and let me tell you: it's _heavenly._" Supergirl giggled happily at her girlfriend. "Looking forward to it."

Beacon opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted when Martian Manhunter's voice boomed in the loudspeaker overhead.

_"Attention all Justice Leaguers: We have an Omega-level threat; all members and associates are to report to the Watchtower for assignment. This is not a drill."_

Beacon and Supergirl turned to each other. "Wonder what's going on?" asked the Halfa.

Supergirl nodded. "We'll find out soon enough, c'mon." without wasting another second, both girls ran out of the gym.

* * *

After the majority of the League had assembled on the control room, Superman, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter stood before them, all three founding Leaguers had grim looks on their face.

"Listen up," Manhunter announced, "A few minutes ago; Green Lantern and myself had been communicating with the Guardians on the planet Oa." Beacon had done her reading on these Guardians of the universe; an ancient race of blue humanoid beings, and the founders of one of the most powerful fighting forces in this universe. If this Omega-level threat had something to do with them, then things were definitely not well.

"Shortly after," J'onn continued, "the planet was attacked by Professor Ivo's android." J'onn paused, making all the Leaguers listening tense up. "We are not sure of what happened, but as far as we can tell; Oa was destroyed, and we don't know if there were any survivors." All the heroes in the briefing room widened their eyes, and some even gasped. Beacon looked astounded at Manhunter, she had read about this android called Amazo, from past League reports. The nanotech-based automaton had the ability to copy the powers of anyone it saw, and had been able to defeat the founding seven members of the League in the span of a few hours. However, that was years ago, and judging from how he had just destroyed the home of the Green Lantern Corps, the center for peace in the universe; the android had become exponentially more powerful than ever.

Beacon turned to look at Green Lantern who, as she expected, had his face contorted with rage. The Halfa could relate, Oa had been like a second home to him. In return, he and the other Green Lanterns have dedictated their lives to protecting the planet. Now it, and everyone else on that planet, was dead.

"It's only gets worse." J'onn said grimly. "The android is currently heading for Earth." Beacon gasped along with all the other heroes, and then she felt a hand squeeze hers. She turned and looked at Supergirl, who had lost a little color on her skin; she wasn't taking this any easier than anyone else.

"We'll set up three layers of defense." The Martian devised, "One on the ground, one it the upper atmosphere and one in space."

"That last one is me," Green Lantern spoke finally, and then furrowed his eyebrows as he held up his ring. "I wanna hammer that thing before it gets anywhere near here."

His fellow Leaguers nodded, even though they were nervous beyond belief, they were still determined to defend their home. They had already lost Oa; they weren't about to lose Earth.

"Move out!" J'onn ordered. While the Leaguers moved to the teleporters to be sent to their assigned teams, Superman paused. "What is it?" J'onn asked.

Superman turned to his fellow founding Leaguer. "When the android left Earth, he said he'd evolved to a level where none of us could offer him anything. So why's he coming back?"

J'onn looked down for a moment, and then his head snapped back up.

"Supergirl, Beacon!" Both girls turned. "I need you for another assignment for you."

"Wait, no!" Superman barked. All of them turned to the Man of Steel, and when he saw J'onn's raised an eyebrow, he quickly tried to defend himself. "I-I mean, can't you just…"

He froze when he saw his cousin glaring daggers at him. "_Ccllaarrkk._"She growled through gritted teeth.

"Report to the space team, Superman." J'onn told his friend plainly. Superman looked between the other heroes with embarrassment, and then floated away to another part of the station to meet with his team.

Beacon watched him fly away, before turning back to J'onn. "So what do you need from us?"

* * *

**Metropolis: Luthor Residence**

Lex Luthor, the former president and CEO of LexCorp, calmly walked throughout his estate while answering interview questions. He had been receiving a plentiful amount of attention from the press. Mainly because the self-proclaimed reformed villain, who had made it his goal in life to destroy the Justice League, suddenly became very benevolent. Naturally, the general populous, as well as the entire League, was very skeptical about his turning over a new leaf.

"Your new book, "Into the Light", certainly projects the image of a man who's reformed, "said the reporter, "but many people are skeptical Mr. Luthor. For good reason."

"I understand their skepticism, Sroya," Luthor replied calmly, "But the fact is that I'm not the man I was before."

When he finished his sentence, Lex opened his shirt to reveal a green metal contraption with a red hexagon in the center. Sroya and the other reporters looked transfixed between Lex and the device

"This device may prevent the spread of my Kryptonite-induced cancer for another thirty years." Luthor explained with a frown. "Or another thirty days; for all I know it could be another thirty minutes. However fate plays her hand, I want my remaining time to have meaning; to make a positive difference in the world."

Sroya raised an eyebrow at the billionaire, clearly unconvinced. "So you're a new man?" she asked, "No grudges or vendettas? Even against the Justice League?" She smirked a little when she asked the last question, hoping to get under his skin.

However, Luthor only chuckled as he led the reporters outside to his garden. "Oh, far from it; I owe them everything."

The billionaire was referring to the time when the League had been able to get him a full pardon a full pardon from the law after he had helped them defeat their counterparts from an alternate universe, the Justice Lords.

"They trusted me when no one else would," Luthor continued, and then he turned his gaze into the sky. "I'd like to think that we might be friends some- What the devil?!"

The reporters looked up to see Supergirl and Beacon swoop down towards them. Before the bald billionaire could make a run for it, Supergirl grabbed him by his underarms and flew off, Beacon following close behind them.

They flew into downtown Metropolis, with Luthor unsuccessfully struggling to escape from Supergirl's arms.

"Let go!" demanded Luthor.

"Keep fighting me, Lex, and I just might."

Luthor looked down and squirmed when he saw that he was high enough to clear every skyscraper in the sky. Being let go at this point would obviously be hazardous to his health.

"What is this about?" Luthor asked the two girls.

"There's an old friend of yours coming back to town." Supergirl replied.

When Luthor looked confused, Beacon elaborated, "Professor Ivo's android."

Luthor's eyes grow wide; he recalled the whole incident of how he'd manipulated Amazo into stealing for him, then convinced him to attack the League. When the android finally realized that he'd been used, he didn't take it well. If he was on his way back, it probably wasn't for a friendly conversation with Lex.

"Wherever you're taking me won't be safe enough," Luthor said grimly after a moment, "but I have just the place."

The two young heroes looked at each other uneasily.

* * *

Following Luthor's directions, Supergirl and Beacon landed in front of a building with large sign of a comb, a pair of scissors, and an electric razor.

"A barber shop?" asked Supergirl with disbelievingly.

"Not going to lie to you, Lex," said Beacon, "no one would think to look for you here."

Luthor glared at the Halfa, despising her for making fun of his lack of hair, then marched inside. The two heroes followed. Once inside, the barber turned a chair towards Lex. The billionaire sat on it and made himself comfortable.

"So now what?" Beacon asked, she was sure that he had more in mind than just sitting in this place until the android arrive.

Luthor simply stared at her. "Just watch." The barber behind him pressed button, and then a metal, egg-shaped shell surrounded Luthor as a hole opened up beneath him.

"Hey!" shouted Supergirl as she flew down after him, Beacon quickly following behind her.

The two girls chased Luthor's pod down a long tunnel, doing all they could not lose him. As the pod continued to speed down the tunnel, a series of thick doors would slam shut immediately after it. Fortunately, Supergirl was more than strong enough to barrel through them. Further down the tunnel; a few small holes opened along the walls, revealing several energy cannons, but Beacon blasted them down before they could fire.

At the end of the tunnel, they reached an area with five branching paths. Supergirl sighed angrily when she realized they had lost track of Luthor.

"Where?" she turned to Beacon

"Can't you use your x-ray vision?" The Halfa asked.

Supergirl narrowed her eyes as she scanned every direction in the surrounding area.

"I can't found him." Supergirl groaned. "Wall must be made of lead."

"Mm, guess we'll just have to pick one."

Supergirl nodded, and then they rocketed into the center tunnel.

Unfortunately before long, Supergirl collapsed when she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. As she weakly tilted her head up, she saw the small chucks of Kryptonite embedded in the walls. Beacon quickly scooped her up, and pulled out of the tunnel; she need to get Supergirl out of here fast, or she'd be in serious trouble.

"Thinks of everything, doesn't he?" asked Supergirl weakly.

"Come on," replied the Halfa hastily, "let's get you back outside."

When both heroes got back to the surface, Supergirl almost felt the restorative properties of the yellow sun work the Kryptonite radiation out of her body. Once she felt strong enough to stand, Beacon press a button in her communicator.

"J'onn, we've put Luthor in a safe place, but we lost sight of him. Should we pursue?"

"_Negative_," the Martian replied, "_The android will be here any minute, I need you to meet with the ground team, while Supergirl goes with the sky team._"

Supergirl widened her eyes, but Beacon raised a finger to signal her not to talk. "Roger that. Beacon out." She lowered her hands, and immediately Supergirl's mouth started.

"Why would he do that?" She demanded, then her face twisted with anger. "Did Superman put him up to this?"

"Honestly? It doesn't matter," informed Beacon, "we've got a job to do, so let's get it done."

Supergirl calmed down when she realized the truth in her words. "Right," She floated a few feet into the air, then she turned to back to the Halfa. "So I guess, see you later?"

Beacon smiled at her. "You bet."

Supergirl returned the smile and nodded. Then she soared high into the air, while Beacon noticed her team rounding the corner to join her.

* * *

**Space: Above Earth's Atmosphere**

Superman stared out into the void as he floated above his adopted home-world. Gone was his cape and tight, he was fully dressed in a suit of Krpytonian armor; he felt he would need every advantage he could get if he was going to fight Amazo. Beside him floated Green Lantern, who was fidgeting with ring on his finger. Near them were Captain Atom, S.T.R.I.P.E, Orion, Starman, and Doctor Light. Behind all of the heroes was the Justice League's entire fleet of Javelins; all of which were either piloted by the Leaguers who couldn't survive in space, or the civilians who worked on the Watchtower. This defense gave them all a significant boost of confidence, but Superman remained skeptical that it would be enough to stop the android.

_You cannot keep me from my goal._

The heroes looked around in confusion, trying to locate the source of the voice.

"Telepathy." Superman murmured.

"I'm not impressed." Remarked Green Lantern.

"Why have you come back?" asked Superman. "What do you want?"

_Why do you ask questions that you already know the answer to?_

"Luthor."

As the words escaped his lips, a bright, golden light appeared in front of them. It was still quite a distance away, but it was rapidly getting closer.

_Of course._

"We're not going to give him up." Told the Man of Steel.

_He is your enemy; you owe him nothing._

Now the rest of the Leaguers could see the golden form of Amazo. He showed not even the slightest sign of slowing down.

"Turn. Back. Now." Superman ordered.

_I have evolved far beyond what I was when we last met. You do not want to challenge me._

Amazo continued to barrel forward towards Earth. The moment that all the heroes were expecting has finally arrived.

"Light'im up!" With a vicious roar, Green Lantern mustered all of his will, and unleashed the most powerful blast he had ever created from his ring.

Every Javelin fired its guns at the android, Superman aimed his heat visiom, Orion fired shots of energy, Captain Atom relased a wave of radioactive energy, and S.T.R.I.P.E launched a barrage of missiles from his shoulders.

The immense amount of power had been enough to push Amazo back, but before long, the android began to push forward again. When he finally met the League, they stood no chance.

* * *

**Sky above Metropolis**

_Where are you?_

Amazo had successfully penetrated the first defense line, and now he was flying over the clouds trying to locate his target. As he flew, countless voices ran through his mind. The android tuned them all out until he found the voice he was looking for. He veered to the side, and made his descent.

A few hundred feet below, Supergirl and her team waited for the eventuality. "He's coming in." Manhunter's voice came into Supergirl's ear

"Not for long." Declared the Girl of Steel. She soared higher into the air, planning to meet Amazo head on. In reality, she was scared beyond belief, but there was no time for fear now. As she drew ever closer to the golden android, a thought came to her mind. She realized that she might not see her girlfriend again. _No! _She screamed in her head. _That's not going to happen!_

Supergirl collided with Amazo, sending a massive shockwave that scattered the surrounding clouds. Unfortunately, the android proved to be too powerful, and Supergirl fell rapidly towards the water near Metropolis' coast line.

Fire, a Brazilian woman currently engulfed in green flames, stared at the ripples that Supergirl made, and then at Amazo with fright. While she simply floated in place, Rocket Red, a man in a red and silver armored suit, flew by her and unleashed an armament of missiles from the compartments in his shoulders and chest, all of which landed a direct hit on Amazo. Amazo, however, just shrugged them off like they were nothing. Rocket pulled his shoulder-mounted minigun, and began to open fire, then used his jet-boots to rocket backwards. The bullets were also useless against the android, who was still able to keep up with him. Eventually Amazo caught up with Rocket, ripped the weapon off him, and then punched the heroes back towards the ground.

As Amazo watched Rocket Red fall, green flames engulfed his body. He looked up at Fire, before raising his hand to absorb her attack as he flew higher in the air. He closed his fingers around her throat. As Fire's vision blurred in and out of focus, she heard Amazo's voice in her head.

_Your bravery is admirable, but annoying._

He hurled Fire to the streets below, but she was caught by a swirl of red air. She turned to see Red Tornado, an android who could create twisters. Fire smiled gratefully at him, before Rocket flew by, and took her to safety. Red Tornado then sent the twister at Amazo. The golden android initially found himself being whirled back and forth by Red's twister, but eventually, he centered himself and fired a blast of energy into the other android, slicing him diagonally in half. The two pieces of Red Tornado fell out of the air in two separate directions.

Amazo continued to make his descent.

* * *

**Streets of Metropolis**

Wonder Woman heard a ping over her communicator.

"Second line of defense is down?" she asked J'onn immediately.

"Yes," the Martian confirmed grimly, "you are all that is left. Good luck."

Wonder Woman looked at her team, composed of Flash, Steel, Ice, and Beacon. Initially, the Halfa would have been placed on the space team, but due to her versatility, J'onn thought it would be best to put her in the last line of defense.

Wonder Woman watched as Beacon surveyed the sky with her holographic interface. She knew that she was worried about Supergirl.

"Don't worry," she whispered to her, "Kara's a strong girl. She'll be alright."

Beacon deactivated her interface as she turned to look at the Amazon, before smiling and nodding. Then her brows furrowed as she looked back up to the sky again. The moment was close at hand.

* * *

**Watchtower**

J'onn raised an eyebrow when he sensed a presence behind him.

"Have you come to offer help?" he asked as he turned.

A man stepped from the shadows; he wore a blue, skintight bodysuit, with gold boots, gloves, belt, and cape. As well as a golden helmet that covered every part of his face, except the white patches over his eyes.

"Not help," corrected Dr. Fate, the Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, "hope."

* * *

**Streets of Metropolis**

Amazo landed a few feet in front of the barber shop and began approach it. However, he stopped when Wonder Woman's ground team quickly had him surrounded.

_When will you learn?_

The android raised his arms, and a dome of golden energy erupted from his body, engulfing a large portion of the street. When the energy disappeared, it left the heroes unconscious in a crater in the middle of the road, everyone except for Beacon, who had managed to protect herself with her own dome of energy. However Amazo's attack still managed to push the Halfa back a few feet, and create two small ruts where her boots grinded across the ground.

Amazo stared at Beacon as her shield disappeared. Until now, not a single member of the Justice League had been able to defend against his attacks, but here was this young being who had managed to do just that. The android continued to look at Beacon while his eyes briefly glowed from red to gold.

_My scans indicate that you are not from this universe._

"No, I'm not." Beacon confirmed. "Now can we have a talk first, in private?"

Amazo was silent for a moment. He could just effortlessly blast her out of the way, and continue his march towards Luthor. However, instead of attacking him on sight like the most of the League had done, she actually was trying to converse with him. Perhaps humoring her would be of some benefit.

_Very well._

His eyes glowed again; Beacon had to shield her eyes to prevent from going blind. When the light vanished, so did the two beings.

Beacon blinked several times as she readjusted her eyes from the bright light from Amazo's teleportation. When her vision became clear again, she scanned her surroundings, and gasped. As far as she could see, the land was filled with orange boulders slumped at every possible angle, some were the sized of small cars, while others were enough to put Earth's tallest mountains to shame. The Halfa tilted her head up to see a sky that was filled with stars and constellations, and even a large planet with several rings hovering around its orbit.

Beacon turned to the android, eyes still wide with awe. "Where are we?"

_A remote planet several hundred light-years from Earth, I found this place… soothing for when I need space to think._

The Halfa nodded and looked around again. Amazo was right; there didn't seem to be any sign of life on this planet. So chances of _anything _disturbing him were highly unlikely.

_Now, _this turned Beacon's attention back to him, _what is it that you wish to discuss?_

* * *

**Space: Above Earth's Atmosphere**

The Leaguers assigned to the space team and bits and pieces of Javelins floated helplessly in the void of space. The Leaguers had done all they could, but Amazo was simply too powerful. Superman's eyelids flickered open when a bright green light shone on his face. Flying towards the fallen heroes were a large group of Green Lanterns; every one of them that had escaped the destruction of Oa, plus any other Lanterns that they pick up along the way to Earth.

The Lanterns used their rings to bring the injured Leaguers and the crippled Javelins back to the Watchtower, while John Stewart was approached by Kyle Rayner.

"You're alive!" John remarked with a bright smile.

Kyle, however, didn't share his mood. "Which is more than I can say for Oa." He replied solemnly.

John's face contorted with anger. "What's the plan?"

Kyle looked at his power-ring. "We're gonna use every bit of power we have left in our rings, and take one last shot at the android."

John raised his eyebrows. "A blast like that… could destroy half the planet."

Kyle looked down at the blue planet below. "Half a planet's better than none."

"_Negative, that will not be necessary._" The Manhunter said in John's communicator.

John pressed a finger to his ear. "What?" he demanded in confusion. "Why not?"

"The android is not on Earth." There was a pang of worry in J'onn's voice.

John narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean it's _not _on Earth?! What happened?" It didn't make any sense. By what he just witnessed, the android was bent on getting his hands on Luthor. Why would he suddenly decide to leave the planet?

"It's Beacon," came the voice of Doctor Fate, "she was able to get through to him."

"That's not all," J'onn spoke again. His unchanged tone was starting to frighten John, "the android took her with him."

John's eyes shot wide upon hearing Manhunter's words. Although before he opened his mouth to speak, another voice boomed into the communicator.

"Wait! _What?!_" Supergirl's voice made John wince and jerk his head to the side. "You mean she's out there with that thing _alone?!_" Before she could continue, J'onn cut off her communicator.

John clenched his fist so tightly that it shook. "First Oa, now this" he growled, "I'm gonna crush that thing if it's the last thing I do."

"I do not believe that will be necessary, John Stewart." Doctor Fate said. "The android's nature has become benign."

"Benign?!" yelled John disbelievingly into his communicator, "you call destroying Oa and taking one of our own _benign_?!"

"On the contrary," Fate replied, completely unfazed by John's rage, "It was Beacon who suggested they leave the planet."

John blinked in confusion. "Why would she do that?"

"Because as we speak," while Doctor Fate's words were still calm, they were very firm, "Rachel Robertson is saving the world."

* * *

**Unknown Planet**

"Why Luthor? The Halfa looked right into Amazo's red eyes. The pair was currently sitting next to each other on a large boulder. The android was tall enough the rest his legs on the ground, while Beacon sat with her feet planted against the front of the boulder. "Why are you so intent on getting to him?" While she had been told about the bald billionaire's numerous acts of villainy by various Leaguers, she wanted to know Amazo's reason on coming back for him.

Amazo just stared down at Beacon, and in all honesty, the fact that he doesn't blink was making her more nervous by the second.

_He manipulated me, used me, to serve his despicable ends._

"So, he lied to you," Beacon summarized, "but why did you take it _this _far? Why did you destroy a whole planet just to get here?

_I did not destroy Oa._

Beacon's eyes grew wide. "_What?"_

_I simply moved it to another dimension._

Beacon was beyond stunned upon learning that Amazo could effortlessly move a whole _planet _across dimensions, but she shook her head to concentrate back to the task at hand.

"Then what is it?" she demanded, without heat. "What exactly do you want from him?"

Amazo looked away for a second, seemingly deep in thought.

_Understanding_

Beacon narrowed her eyes in confusion. "I-I don't follow."

The android turned back to the Halfa.

_He has everything humans desire: wealth. Power. Yet he craves more, and he'll do anything to get it. Why? What is his ultimate purpose?_

Beacon eyed the android inquiringly; this conversation just took a huge turn.

"You want to know what _his _purpose is," she deduced, "but really, you want to know what yours is."

There was a moment of silence before Amazon's words entered Beacon's mind again.

_Yes. Professor Ivo made me to evolve, and these past months I have amassed so much knowledge. And yet, I remain… confused… empty… What am I evolving into? What is _my_ purpose? _

Beacon stared at the golden android as she thought about how peculiar his situation was. Here was a being with an untold amount of power, and yet all he seeks is the answer to his own existence. The Halfa actually felt quite sorry for him. "If you really want answers to those questions, you'll have to find them on you own" She replied. "Every being has to find their own purpose in life."

Amazo looked down in apparent disappointment. Beacon took a chance and put a hand on his arm. "But even so," she continued, "if you ever need any need help, I'll gladly lend a hand."

Amazo looked into Beacon's eyes.

_You would do that? After everything I've done?_

Beacon thought hard about this, but her answer was obvious. "Of course, that's what we're here for; to help any that are in need."

Amazo nodded.

_Thank you._

Beacon smiled. Then her expression grew grim. "Um, we should head back," she chuckled nervously, "I think everyone will be pretty worried about me." _And I have some explaining to do to a certain someone. _She finished in her mind.

The android nodded again, and rose from the boulder they were sitting on. Beacon followed him until they stopped at the spot where they first arrived.

Before they made to leave, another thought appeared into the Halfa's mind.

"You know something, Amazo? You remind me of a great friend of mine." The android turned to her, and waited for her to continue. "Like you, he had trouble finding his role in life too, but when the time came, he made his choice to protect the people he cared about."

_Interesting… What happened to him?_

Beacon's face changed dramatically from cheerful to somber. "I-I don't know exactly," she confessed, "Everything was such a blur then. For all I know, he died like everyone I knew."

The Halfa hung her head as a tear streaked down her face. She was glad that no one was around to see her like this. Well, except for Kara anyway. Amazo moved one of his large hands, and tilted Beacon's head back up by placing an index finger under her chin. Then slowly, with the same finger, he brushed the tear of her face, before finally resting his hand on her shoulder.

_I may be able to assist you in that matter_

Beacon blinked. "You-you can? Oh! Wait a minute."

Amazo nodded. _Yes, I was able to transport Oa to another dimension with minimal effort. Perhaps I could send you back to your dimension._

Beacon stared into the android's eyes. She was being offered the chance to go home. A chance to return to the place that once held the most meaning in her life, but at this point…

"Thank you for the offer," she replied sincerely, "but I can't, at least, not right now. I have other commitments here." She thought about Kara, and how angry and heartbroken she would be if she just left her without any rhyme or reason. She can't just everything and leave it at that, not even for this, but beneath all that, there was another, darker reason why she can't accept the offer.

* * *

_She rested his head on her thighs and clutched tightly to his trembling hand as the tears streamed down her face. He began to shed a tear or two as he stared at her, his bright-green eyes boring into hers. The smile his mouth formed, while weak and had thick bright-green blood running down the corner, was as authentic and happy as the ones she had seen him express throughout her entire life._

_She looked between her dying cousin's eyes and the gaping hole in his chest, stained with flowing flood. Despite fully knowing the truth, she still tried to get him to safety, but he told her not to. He didn't want to waste the little to no time they had left._

_"R-Robin," she choked, "I-I sorry." As she wept, she squeezed his hand a tight as she could, determined to never let go. _

_"I love you!" she cried finally between sobs._

_"I-I love you too, Rachel," Robin's voice was barely audible, then slowly with his free hand, he brushed his fingers against her cheek. "Always."_

_His eyes fluttered shut as he exhaled one last breath. His head fell slightly as his hand slipped off her face, and landed on the grass with a soft thud. Then his form dissolved, leaving nothing but a large puddle behind._

_"No!"_

* * *

"No!" Beacon opened her eyes in a flash, gasping for breath. It took her a moment to hone in on the fact that she was staring too closely at the ground. Another moment passed when she finally realized that she had crouched down while holding her head between her hands.

Amazo had watched her whole episode, and had also crouched down before her.

_Are you alright?_

Beacon tilted her head to the android, still trying to catch her breath. "Y-yeah, I'll be fine." She stood back at up. "I just had a flashback." She felt the wetness in her eyes as well as her cheeks and quickly brushed them away with her forearm. Amazo guess stared at the Halfa.

_Is that also why you are hesitant to return back to your dimension? Because the grief is too much?_

"I'm not ready to go back." she admitted. "I don't know if I could handle it."

Amazo placed his hand on her shoulder again.

_Very well. It is your decision._

Beacon nodded and smiled. Amazo returned the gesture, and then he eyes glowed once again, and the blinding light reappeared. As Beacon shielded her eyes again, both of them vanished, heading back to Earth.

* * *

**Metropolis**

The Green Lanterns stood by the underground laboratory where Luthor and the Atom had barricaded themselves. Even though the android had left Earth, John was convinced that he was going to come back, and when he did, the Green Lantern Corps will be waiting for him. Luthor and the Atom didn't want to leave anything to chance, and therefore continued working on the cannon that would, in theory, disable his nanotechnology.

Right as Luthor closed a panel on the machine and wiped the sweat from his forehead, a bright golden light engulfed the room. Everyone tensed and squeezed their eyes shut. When they reopened them, they were astonished to see Beacon and Amazo standing in the middle of the room, the android's hand slid off her shoulder when he saw the people in the lab. Beacon only had time to gasp before a Green Lantern pushed her out of the way by enclosing her in a bubble he constructed with his ring. The other Lanterns quickly surrounded the android, each of them pointing their rings at him.

"Lantern, wait!" Beacon screamed desperately to John. The bubble she was encased in had muffled her voice slightly, giving it a sort of echo-y tone. Every Lantern ignored her and just continued to stare daggers at Amazo. The latter just looked from each galactic enforcer to the nextwith apparent curiosity. Hoping to stop them from making a huge mistake, Beacon pounded the bubble with all the strength she could muster. The construct began to crack as she screamed again. "Please! He didn't destroy Oa!"

Every pair of eyes turned to the Halfa, but she only had eyes for John Stewart. The Lantern holding her erased the bubble from existence. As she landed on feet, she spoke in a much softer tone. "He only moved it to another dimension."

Everyone turned to look at Amazo, who also had his eyes on John. Then slowly, the Lanterns lowered their rings.

_It was in my way_

"Then could you move it back?" John asked, making great effort to remain calm.

Amazo's eyes glowed.

_Done._

The Green Lantern all expressed relieved smiles. Beacon walked up and stood next to Amazo as he turned to her.

_I have also taken the liberty of undoing the damage I have done to the Justice League as well._

Sure enough, back in space and throughout the Earth, all the injured Leaguers found themselves healed. Additionally, the repair crews on the Watchtower all scratched their heads when all the Javelins suddenly became undamaged.

"Thank you." Beacon said with a grateful smile. Then her face fell slightly. "Where are you going to go now?"

Amazo turned away from her.

_I do not know, _he turned his head to the ceiling, but Beacon know he could see far beyond that, _perhaps someplace far enough away where I can start to find my purpose._

Before Beacon could retort, a bright purple ankh appeared out of thin air, as did Doctor Fate. The sorcerer immediately turned to Amazo.

"I can help you on your journey; in your search for meaning."

_Help me? Why?_

"Because like Beacon," he placed a hand on his chest, "that is _my_ purpose."

Amazo considered this for a moment, before standing back upright.

_…I accept your offer._

Fate nodded, and Beacon grinned at the android. The purple ankh appeared behind the both. With another flash of light, they disappeared.

* * *

After expressing their thanks to Beacon, the Lanterns, except for John, made their departure for Oa. John and Beacon watched on the roof of a building as the glowing green lights rose higher into the sky, and then eventually disappeared.

"Thanks for what you did today, Rach." The Halfa turned to John, but the Lantern wasn't looking at her as he spoke, but rather, he just stared out into the horizon behind the skyline of Metropolis.

"You're welcome, John." Beacon replied. "That's what we do."

"So," John began with a smile, "you wanna come with the rest of the League to celebrate our first mission with everyone together?"

Beacon thought about this for moment, it actually did sound like fun, but before she answered, the Halfa turned her head when she sensed someone approaching them. She grinned cheerfully when her eyes fell on a certain Kryptonian rapidly flying their way. The Halfa floated off of the roof, and back to John. "You go on ahead; I got something to take care of first."

The pair exchanged nods, and then the ghost-girl turned and zoomed into the sky towards her girlfriend. Upon reaching each other, both girls wrapped themselves in a tight embrace. The momentum from both their flights caused them to slowly drift across air. Not one word was passed between them as they held onto one another, ever so slowly in a horizontal rotation in some form of mock anti-gravity.

"I'm so happy you're okay." Supergirl exclaimed, she sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

"I'm glad you're okay too." Beacon replied. They loosened their embrace so they could beam into each other's eyes. Then at the same time, they both leaned in and gave each other a deep, passionate kiss.

"Still up for dinner tonight?" asked the Halfa, slightly out of breath from giddiness.

"Absolutely." Replied Supergirl brightly.

"Excellent! Let's go."

With that, Beacon held onto Supergirl's hand as she led them through the sky, soaring past the horizon as they made their way back towards Miami.

"By the way," Supergirl began in a serious tone, "You owe me an explanation."

_Uh…oh, _Beacon thought grimly.

* * *

**Tower of Fate**

Inside the ancient looking stone castle that resembled a rectangular rook, Dr. Fate and Amazo appeared in the main room. Amazo took a minute to survey the many strange, magical artifacts and the countless books lining the walls. The pair was approached by a woman with green eyes, wearing blue pants and a yellow blouse, her black hair tied in a ponytail, and she wore a pair of small ankhs as earrings.

"We have another guest, Inza," the Doctor informed his wife, "would you prepare a place for him?"

"Of course, dear." Inza looked at Amazo with a grin. "Welcome."

Amazo was taken aback slightly. He had never been treated to this level of hospitality. Honestly, he was very fond of this experience.

"Are you all right?" Inza asked her husband.

"Fine," came Fate's simple reply, "although it was fortunate that Miss Robertson was able to stop John Stewart before the unthinkable happened."

"Yes it was, but I wouldn't worry about John." The three turned to see a woman approach them. She had orange hair, remarkable green eyes, and a large pair of white wings on her back.

"His bark is a lot worse than his bite." Finished Shayera Hol.

* * *

**Finally, another chapter is complete. I want to thank Jaguarspot again for proofreading, as well as adding some new ideas in this one. I literally cannot believe how many mistake I've made in the draft I sent.**

**On another look, uh-oh…. Looks the big, blue, Boy Scout doesn't like the idea of his cousin dating a girl. I'll have to think hard about how to get him past that hurdle.**

**Well anyway, have a great summer everyone, and I'll see you all next time. **


	13. In-between Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: For those of you that don't know by now. I don't own DP or the JLU!**

**Hello everybody, sorry this took a while. I had other engagements I needed to take care of, and therefore didn't have a lot of time to focus on this chapter. Thank you for your patience.**

**Also I wanted to make sure this chapter was just right. So thank you Jaguarspot for the extensive help in this one.**

Beacon of Justice

In-between Chapter 3

**Tower of Fate**

Several ancient, hard-covered books began to float involuntarily off of the shelves that served as their resting place. The books soared through the main room until they stopped in front of Amazo's bright red eyes. The golden android had adjusted amazingly well, and found a productive way to stay busy in the few weeks since he moved into Doctor Fate's home. The many books, as well as artifacts were more than enough to quench his thirst for knowledge. While Amazo telekinetically flipped through the five books he held in the air, in another part of the room, Doctor Fate was conducting his daily mediation by floating cross-legged in the air. His trance was interrupted by his wife Inza, who approached him while carrying a metal pot.

"Some more tea, dear?" she asked kindly.

"Yes, that would be lovely," he waved his hand in the air, and then with a flash of purple light, a teacup resting on a saucer appeared in his hands, the Doctor held the cup of for his wife, who happily poured the steaming liquid. Just as Inza finished pouring Fate his tea, the Doctor silently brought his hand to his head. The movement was subtle, but Inza knew better than that.

"Kent? Is something wrong?"

Amazo, who heard the Doctor's concerned wife, telekinetically stacked his books on the table beside him, before approaching the couple.

_Is there something troubling you, Doctor? _The android mentally spoke to the two of them.

Doctor Fate lowered his hand and turned to his concerned housemates. "No, I am alright," he paused for moment, "but I did feel a presence enter into this world."

"You mean another alien invasion?" asked Inza.

"Not quite," puzzled the sorcerer, "It felt _beyond_ that."

Inza and Amazo looked at the each other, before turning back to Doctor Fate.

_Were you able to locate where the presence originated?_

"Fortunately, I was." Fate raised his hand and it glowed with purple light. A split second later, an image surrounded by swirling energy appeared, revealing the entrance of an alley between the corners of two buildings. The three of them watched the image for a moment, and then Inza gasped slightly when a blinding light flashed from inside the alley, but then, nothing else happened.

"What was that?" Inza asked her husband.

"Hmm," mused Doctor Fate as he tucked his chin in his fingers, "perhaps it would benefit to seek assistance in this matter."

He gently landed back on his feet and turned to Inza and Amazo. "I will not take long." He reassured. With that, a bright purple ankh appeared behind him, and with another bright flash, the Sorcerer vanished.

* * *

**Watchtower**

"Oof." Beacon grunted as she was pushed back by Supergirl. After skidding to a halt, she looked up at the Girl of Steel before smiling proudly at her.

"That was good Kara." She praised as she approached the two other girls. "It's good to see… and _feel_," she rolled her stiff shoulder, "how much better you've gotten."

Beacon had been impressed by her girlfriend's improvement, her techniques have gotten smoother and she had stopped replying solely on her super-strength. The Halfa turned to look at another blond girl standing next to Supergirl. Beacon had to admit, Stargirl was definitely a force to be reckoned with too, even without her staff, which not only gave her more reach, but also had the ability to fire energy bolts; she was very skilled in hand-to-hand combat, as well as acrobatics.

Supergirl smiled warmly at her girlfriend. "So what's next?" she asked eagerly. Then her eyes widened as she came up with something. "Ooo! Can we learn that Nerve Pinch move?"

"Nerve Pinch?" Stargirl questioned as she eyed the two girls curiously. Of course she hadn't realized that Beacon had first demonstrated the move on Supergirl, which put the blond Kryptonian in a stupor for about five hours.

Beacon giggled at Supergirl's excitement. "Calm down, Kara, but I think we should focus on something else today."

Supergirl's shoulders fell as she made a pouty, disappointed face. Stargirl on the other hand, simply rolled her eyes before turning back to the Halfa.

"So, what's next on the list?" she asked quickly.

Beacon smiled. "Right, well we all know that it's essential to sharpen our senses when it comes to combat." She looked between the other girls, who stared back at her intently. "So, let's see how you two will fair if I take those senses away."

Both blond girls exchanged confused looks. "How'll you do that?" asked Supergirl.

Beacon expressed a wicked smirk. "Easy." With that simple response, the ghost-girl faded from sight. Supergirl and Stargirl both widened their eyes, before instinctively going into their combat stances. Both girls were dead silent as they surveyed the training room, listening so attentively that, even without super-hearing, they could practically hear each other's heartbeats.

"Can't you hear her?" Stargirl finally asked, her back facing Supergirl.

"No," Supergirl answered ominously, her back also towards the other blonde. She was having difficulty believing their situation, even with all her enhanced senses; Beacon was so quiet she might as well have just exited the room. That's when she remembered that when in her ghost-form; Beacon had no heartbeat, and didn't need to breathe in oxygen.

The next thing Stargirl knew, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Instantly and without thinking, she swung her staff behind her, and hit Supergirl in the arm.

"Ah! What was that for?!" Supergirl screamed as she rubbed her sore limb.

"Sorry, I thought that was-Agh!" Before she could finish, some unseen force kicked her to the side, causing her to skid several yards.

"Star!" Supergirl turned and glared at the air, "Beacon! _Not_ cool!"

"Oh come on, Kara," Supergirl turned when she heard the voice, but there was no one there, "I didn't hit her _that _hard." She turned again when she heard the voice in another direction, but again there was nothing.

Sweat began to form on Supergirl's temple, Beacon had been right; having their senses taken away, even if they were greatly enhanced, changed the scale of the entire fight, and honestly, it scared her quite a bit. Before she could react, she felt a tug on her cape, and then it was pulled over her head.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as she frantically pulled her cape back to the right place. By now Stargirl had recovered and quickly rejoined her visible partner. They stood back to back as they looked around the training room again, anticipating when Beacon would make her next move.

There was another tapping sound coming from Stargirl's left side, and this time she fired a bright yellow bolt of energy towards where she heard the sound. Unfortunately, her shot just soared through the room, and hit the side wall.

"Missed me." Came Beacon's voice again, Supergirl heard come from somewhere in front of her, and she quickly shot her heat vision in the direction, but it yielded the same result. "_Nope_, not there either."

Finally Supergirl groaned. "This is insane. How will we ever beat you like this?"

"Well, obviously I can't just tell you," She heard the Halfa say, "You'd never learn that way."

"Well, then can you at least drop a few hints?" asked Stargirl plainly.

There was a moment of silence that sent chills down both blonde's spines. Then they turned when they heard Beacon's voice appear in another part of the room.

"I guess I can do that." Without warning, Supergirl grunted when she felt a slight pain in her chest, after grunting with pain, she looked down to see smoke emitting from the S-shield on her T-shirt.

"You shot me!" she yelled exasperatingly.

"Hey, you asked for some hints."

Supergirl looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes angrily at Stargirl.

"What?" she asked innocently. "It's not like you can't bounce back from that."

* * *

While the three young heroes trained, three other heroes stood in the control room for the tower's training area, watching them carefully.

"Rachel sure knows how to present a challenge." Wonder Woman commented as Superman and Flash stood next to her.

"Shhe ure does," Flash said with a large piece of his protein bar in his mouth, the two other founding Leaguers glared at him for his lack of manners, but the Scarlet Speedster just kept his gaze fixed on the two girls still standing back to back as he swallowed his snack, "and it'll definitely allow them to improve."

Superman remained silent. He just stood there with his arms crossed, watching the three train.

"_Clark…_" he turned to see Wonder Woman staring at him, a slight frown on her face. "You're not still upset about them being together, are you?"

Superman scoffed slightly. _Curse Athena for giving her Empathy_, he thought. Then he turned to his head to the other side when he felt Flash put an arm around his shoulder.

"Yeah, relax, big guy." He grinned broadly. "Besides, they both look happy together and Rachel's been _way _better now than when we first meet her."

Superman thought about this deeply. It's true that Rachel's behavior had improved, and she got along with nearly every member of the League. The Halfa was certainly one of the friendliest people he'd ever met, but something about all this was still bothering him.

"You're right," he said to Flash, he then turned back to look at Supergirl, "but she's my cousin, I just want the best for her."

"And that is quite honorable," remarked Wonder Woman, "but you have to let her choose her own path."

Superman looked at the Amazon before turning away with a sigh. Diana was the third woman he's talked to that said something along those lines. Maybe this goes to show that he had been a bit unreasonable lately.

Before Superman's thoughts could carry him any further, the door to the control room slid open, and Batman, along with Green Lantern and Doctor Fate, entered.

Superman raised an eyebrow at the sight of the three. "What's going on?"

"I seek an audience with Rachel Robertson." Doctor Fate requested.

"Fate told us that he sensed a presence appear on Earth," Batman explained, and when the other three still looked confused, he added, "a presence from _out _of this universe."

Superman, Wonder Woman, and Flash widened their eyes at exactly the same time. Then Superman pressed a button on the control panel and spoke into the intercom.

"Beacon, can you meet us in the conference room? Doctor Fate's here to see you."

In the training room, the Halfa reappeared, floating a few feet away from Supergirl and Stargirl, eyeing the control room curiously.

"Wonder what's up." She queried.

"Hmm," mused Supergirl, "guess we'll found out soon enough."

* * *

The heroes made their way to the conference room. Stargirl would've liked to tag along, but she was summoned by her stepfather, S.T.R.I.P.E., the teenage hero groaned when he shouted her name from across the hall.

"I swear, one day I'll…" Beacon couldn't hear her last words as she stalked towards her stepfather.

The founding Leaguers, Doctor Fate, Beacon, and Supergirl made their way to the conference room; where the founding members of the Justice League would gather to discuss important League matters. The instant the door had closed, Flash's question burst immediately out of his mouth.

"So Doc, what's this presence from another universe you felt appear on Earth?"

Beacon and Supergirl looked between the sorcerer and Speedster in confusion, having no idea what he was talking about.

"Presence?" Beacon repeated.

"From another universe?" finished Supergirl.

Doctor Fate nodded. "That is why I asked for you, Rachel." No one seemed surprised that he knew who Beacon was in any way, partly because _this_ was Doctor Fate, the Sorcerer Supreme. "The energy signature from the presence I felt was similar to yours. "

Beacon, along with the others, widened her eyes. "Me?"

Fate nodded for a second time. "Perhaps it would be better to show you all."

He raised his hand to the wall, and muttered an enchantment in some strange language. Almost immediately, a cloud of purple energy surrounded his hand, and over by the wall, purple smoke appeared before forming an image of the alley way between two buildings.

"Observe." Fate instructed. The heroes did as they were told, and eyed the image with narrowed eyes. Then the flash of blue light appeared deep in the alleyway, some of them gasped while other simply reeled back, surprised by the sudden flash of light.

"So, what was it?" Green Lantern asked.

"I do not know." admitted Doctor Fate, after dispelling the image. "No thing or person ever walked out after the flash."

Beacon tucked her chin in her fingers. If the energy from the light was similar to hers, and no one was seen emerging from it, the Halfa could only think of one answer. "Maybe not," she deduced. The others turned their heads once again back to her. They've done this so many times, it's like they've been watching an intense back and forth round of tennis. "You said that light had a similar energy to mine. So maybe the reason that you can't see anything is because whoever was there didn't want to be seen. Maybe it's because it's another ghost."

Silence filled the conference room as the heroes pondered what Beacon had just brought forward.

"So, if another ghost has appeared into this world," said Green Lantern, "how worried should we be?"

"Well, it depends on the ghost," Beacon replied, "some ghosts are actually pretty nice, while others not so much."

"What are their capabilities?" asked Batman, he didn't want to leave anything to chance. Therefore his quick, investigative mind was trying all it could to find an exploitable weakness should the need arise.

"Again, it depends." Beacon tucked her chin into her fingers again, and thought for a moment, "but all ghosts have the same basic powers; Flight, intangibly, and of course, invisibility."

"Okay, but there's another thing." Flash chimed in. "If this ghost can turn invisible, how are we going to find it?"

"You said you had the ability to detect them." Batman recalled.

Beacon nodded, remembering the same thing. "But there is another way to detect a ghost." With that, she turned to both Superman and Supergirl, giving the latter a hint of a smirk. "They can be seen via infrared."

"Wait, they can?" Supergirl asked exasperatedly. The Halfa's smirk became broader. "Well, that would've been nice to know when we were in the training room."

Beacon laughed. "You're right, but it probably wouldn't've made much of a difference."

"Why not?" question Superman.

The Halfa tugged at her clothing. "The fibers in my clothes shield me from infrared detection." She explained. "The Guardians realized a long time ago that such a simple weakness would be… counterproductive."

"Then Superman and Supergirl will help you look for the ghost," Batman said, getting them back on track. Then he turned to Doctor Fate. "Where is it now?"

Doctor Fate touched the tips of his fingers to the forehead of his helmet for a moment, before turning back to the other heroes. "Central City, in the warehouse complex; that is as close as I could narrow it down."

"That'll do," Superman nodded. "Flash, it's your home town, so you'll lead this one. Beacon, Lantern, Supergirl, and I will go with you."

Flash's lips soared upwards in an excited smile. "Way ahead of ya, Supes." With that said, the Speedster rushed out of the room, leaving a red trail in the air behind him.

The other heroes swiftly moved to follow him, and when they reached the teleporter, they found him standing on a pad, tapping his foot impatiently. The rest of them took their places on the other pads. After a flash of white light, they were gone.

* * *

**Central City**

The team of Justice Leaguers appeared in a flash of light at the one of the city's warehouse complexes. After a quick brief, they carefully began to spread out; Both Kryptonians and Green Lantern soared into the sky. Flash quickly ran throughout the complex, while Beacon flew low towards the ground.

It was decided that Beacon would be the one to communicate with the ghost should they encounter it. If what Beacon said was true; the ghost might be willing to make peace.

Supergirl surveyed the complex at a steady place as she flew overhead; she had since detached herself from the other two founding Leaguers, particularly from Superman. Even after several months, Supergirl's contact with her older cousin had been minimal at best, and though he would often still come for dinner at the Kent Farm; their interactions have been plagued with awkward moments of silence.

Try as she might, but Supergirl couldn't think of what was going on in the Boy Scout's head; she didn't know if he still disapproved of her relationship with Beacon, or if he was just too embarrassed to admit that he had been wrong. With thoughts like these, each and every day got more and more frustrating for her.

Supergirl eventually slowed to a halt when she saw a small speck move into an alley between two buildings, it was subtle, and anyone without enhanced vision would've just disregarded it, but she knew better than that. The Kryptonian slowly made her descent. When she touched down on the ground, Supergirl leisurely walked towards the alley. She stopped when she reached the middle and surveyed the area. However, instead of her eyes, it was her sharp ears that detected the light sound of pattering feet hitting the asphalt that made her whirl around. Supergirl instinctively got into a combat stance, anticipating conflict, but she blinked in confusion when she saw the emptiness of alleyway that she entered in.

"ARF!"

Supergirl jumped backwards as she fixed her gazed downwards with widened eyes. There, sitting back on its hind legs, was a puppy that had white fur along with some black spots,

"Arf!" barked the small canine again, wagging its tail back and forth excitedly, and with a happy smile on its face.

The sight of this creature in front of her made Supergirl ease up. "Aww…" she crouched down before the puppy; her weakness for cute things taking over. "Hey there, little guy." She reached out and stroked the puppy's head with her white gloved hand. The dog leaned his head into her touch, and made a slight happy, whining noise while his tail wagged faster.

Supergirl had just taken in the simple black collar on the puppy, when she jumped as a voice spoke from the communicator in her ear. "_Kara, what've you got?_" Green Lantern asked.

The Blond Kryptonian quickly pressed the button to her ear. "Nothing so far," she replied, "but I think I found someone's puppy."

Right as Supergirl finished her sentence; she noticed a red blur streak past her field of vision. She turned to her left to see Flash crouching beside her, studying the puppy curiously.

"Puppy huh?" the Speedster pondered. He flipped the silver tag on the dog's collar between his fingers, and raised an eyebrow. "The tag's blank. Who'd give their dog a blank collar?"

"I have no idea." Supergirl replied. "Maybe we should take him to an animal shelter."

Flash nodded. "But not now. We need to focus on the job at hand."

Supergirl nodded as well and they both stood back up. The puppy eyed both heroes curiously when all of a sudden, he turned his head, and sped off down the road, barking excitedly.

"Wait!" Supergirl called out, sticking her arm up. She wanted to give chase, but instead she felt Flash's hand clutch onto her shoulder.

"Kara," he said, "Remember? The job?"

Supergirl looked at him before turning her head back to the street, although she blinked when she realized that the puppy was now gone.

"Come on," Flash suggested.

With another nod, Supergirl flew back into the air while Flash streaked past several more buildings.

* * *

Beacon continued to wander between several buildings. While her legs were carrying down her path, her mind was busy thinking about the possibly that someone from her home universe had managed to come into this one. Since her arrival was over a year ago, the Halfa had long since given up on any attempts to solve the mystery as to how she ended up in this universe, but this new arrival had brought that thought back to the surface. She had so many questions. As Beacon reached the corner of a building, she was abruptly brought to a halt when she felt chills crawl on her skin, and a wave of coldness steadily travel up her spine. It's as if the temperature in the air had just significantly dropped. Finally, Beacon's eyes locked onto the trail of blue vapor that had escaped from her mouth. Beacon's ghost-sense had since become a rarity, the last occurrence happened months ago when she was on a mission to find Circe, a well-known and dangerous sorceress. The Halfa jerked her head to the alleyway beside her when several pattering sounds reached her ears.

Without a moment's hesitation, Beacon bolted into the alleyway, stopping when she reached the opposite end. She jerked her head frantically back and forth at the perpendicular alleyway before she noticed the tip of a small, white tail disappear into the corner of another alleyway to her right.

"Wait!" she called out, the trail of her ghost sense informing her that she was on the right track. Beacon gave chase and rounded the corner into the other alleyway just in time to see a white tail enter a building out of the corner of her eye.

With a sigh, the Halfa walked through the alleyway and phased into the building, realizing that it was quite dark since the doors were locked, and the lights were out. The only source of light was from several tiny windows.

"Um, hello?" she called out softly, "Excuse me, I know you're here." She walked deeper into the dark building, "My name is Beacon, I'm a member of the Justice League, and I'm a ghost too." The Halfa surveyed her surroundings for any sign of movement. "Why don't you come out, and we can talk. Maybe we can help you."

Silence was all she got as an answer and she began to think that maybe she'd miss it. She sighed and made to leave, only to stop and quickly jerk to the side when she saw a blast of green energy come her way. Beacon glared into every inch of the building, anticipating the next attack. Before she even knew it, another shot of energy flew towards her, but she was able to dodge it with no problem.

"Please!" she yelled at her attacker. "I didn't come here to fight. I-" she couldn't finish as she quickly raised her forearm next to her head, she felt an impact hit her and was relieved to have been able to block the attack.

Beacon sensed another attack, this time from her left and up high. She ducked and heard the whoosh of a swinging kick past right where her head used to be.

"Please!" Beacon repeated. "Don't make me do this!" Just as her last word rang out, the Halfa shifted her body to the side to avoid another attack from her invisible opponent.

With the attempts at communication as a failure, Beacon decided to take the offensive. She swung her right leg to what she guessed was her opponent's head, but it was stopped as she felt pressure holding her ankle in place. Beacon quickly swung her other leg at the ghost, but again it caught her by the ankle. It was lucky that she could fly; otherwise she'd flat on her back. Beacon struggled to get free from the ghost's grasp as she floated in the air. Instinctively, she bent her leg towards her opponent and aimed a straight punch at some high point; she hit nothing air but didn't stop as she drove another fist into the low point where she estimated the midsection would be.

Beacon heard the sound of a woman's grunt of pain escape into the air; she felt the pressure in her ankles disappear and quickly floated away from her opponent. After landing a few feet away, the Halfa heard the tell-tale sound of coughing and slight retching, and guessed that her opponent must doubling over from pain.

"I'm sorry." Beacon said sympathetically. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Her opponent's sounds of pain finally stopped and the warehouse was filled with silence again. Then the invisible woman shot another energy blast at Beacon, the ghost-girl quickly moved to dodge it, but couldn't completely avoid it because the distance this time around was far closer than before. She felt the blast graze her shoulder, followed by a burning pain. Beacon grunted and grabbed her shoulder, and then felt a tug on the front of her shirt.

A familiar chilly sensation coursed through her body as Beacon felt herself being pushed backwards. Although instead of hitting the wall of the warehouse, The Halfa passed right through, and landed on the road outside. When she re-materialized, she clenched her eyes shut for a moment as the bright light from outside stung her eyes.

* * *

The other Leaguers were closing in on Beacon's position, having heard the fighting, as well as her attempts at communication. Green Lantern saw the Halfa fall through the building to the outside before turning to the two cousins flying next to him.

"See anything?" he asked.

Both Superman's and Supergirl's eyes glowed white, and all the color from their normal vision became different shades of red, yellow, and orange. They found Beacon, who had got back to her feet, standing in a combative stance. However what surprised them was the figure approaching her.

"There _is_ someone there." Supergirl exclaimed.

"Right," confirmed Superman, "a hooded figure, and a woman by the looks of it."

They landed on the ground right as Beacon performed several back hand-springs, as well as a backflip, to avoid the impact of her opponent slamming into the ground. The attack made several cracks on the road and dented the concrete by a few inches. Beacon landed on her feet in front of Superman, Supergirl, and Green Lantern, closely followed by Flash; who had finally caught up with them. All the heroes got into their combat stances and simply waited for whoever was in front of them to attack them. Surprisingly however, no attack ever came, instead a voice spoke out.

"It's good to see you've improved since the last time we saw each other."

Beacon let out a huge gasp as her eyes opened as wide as they could. The other heroes looked at the Halfa, and then at each other in confusion.

"Uh, Beacon?" Superman asked, "What's the matter?"

Beacon didn't answer him; she just kept her eyes locked in front of her, shaking every inch of her body.

"Th-that voice," the ghost-girl's voice sounded completely stunned, "It can't be."

The other Leaguers' looks of bewilderment were still in full force, but then confusion turned into amazement when a figure materialized into view in front of them.

Standing in front of them was a young woman wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, red jeans, and blue shoes. The woman's eyes were hidden underneath her hood, but nothing hid the smile. Beacon's eyes began to quiver as she stared at the woman.

"D-Dani?"

Her teammates looked on in confusion as the woman's smile became brighter as she took off her hood. The other heroes widened their eyes when they saw her sparkling blue eyes, and her long raven black her that was half covered by a red beanie and tied back in a ponytail.

"It's good to see you again, Rachel." the woman said. "It's been forever."

The dam finally broke and tears fell down Beacon's face. "_DANI!_" she screamed as she sped towards the older woman, the other Leaguers' jaws fell when they saw the white-haired girl collide with the black-hair woman. They wrapped each other in an embrace so tight, that even Superman doubted that he had the strength to separate them. The next few minutes were filled with muffled whimpers as Beacon buried her face in Dani's chest.

"I-I don't believe it!" Beacon spoke between tears and sobs. "Is it really you?"

"Yeah," Dani replied softly, her own eyes brimming with tears, "It is."

More tears fell out of Beacon's eyes as she rested her head back onto Dani's chest. There was no denying the joy in her wide smile.

"You're alive," she whispered, then tilted her head up and gazed into the older woman's bright blue eyes, "b-but how'd you get here? How'd you found me?"

Dani grinned at her. "It's actually quite a story, and here's-"

"ARF!"

Everyone present turned their eyes to the sound, and there standing next to Dani's legs was the white puppy that had managed to elude them on several occasions.

"Hey, boy!" Dani said brightly, as she knelt down and patted the canine's head. The puppy smiled and whined pleasantly.

"That's the puppy from before!" announced Supergirl as Dani picked up the dog, and got back to her feet. "So he's yours."

Dani looked at the other heroes, and expressed another smile before nodding. Beacon gasped as another realization popped into her head.

"Cujo?!" she wondered with wide eyes.

The puppy, Cujo, fixed his eyes on Beacon, and barked cheerfully. Dani chuckled and scratched behind her puppy's back.

"Well, I don't think you'll be need this anymore." She pressed an index finger to the silver tag on the puppy's collar. A low hum could be heard, and the collar started to glow as Cujo's features began to change; his fur was no longer white, but now a bright green and his eyes were now bright red.

"Cujo!" exclaimed Beacon as she scratched behind his ears. "It _is _you! My gosh, you haven't changed one bit."

Cujo let out another excited bark and softly licked Beacon's cheek, the Halfa laughed at the kind gesture.

"I brought him along to help me track you down," Dani explained, "and as you can tell: he missed you a lot."

"Uh, Beacon?" asked Green Lantern. The Halfa turned to her other friends, whose eyes were still wide as tennis ball, and their completely confused and aghast expressions haven't changed one bit. "Would you mind tell us what the devil is going on here?"

"And why is that dog _green_?" Supergirl added.

Beacon looked at the other Leaguers in the eye. "Oh, sorry." She answered, a little embarrassingly. She raised her arm in a gesturing fashion. "You guys: this is Danielle Fenton, one of my mentors." She looked at the older woman with a bright smile, before patting her puppy in the head. "and this is Cujo, her dog… well _ghost _dog, to be precise." She finished with a chuckle.

* * *

**Watchtower**

Given Beacon's reaction when she saw her old mentor, the rest of the Leaguers had come to the conclusion that this _Danielle Fenton _was not a threat. The heroes plus two were teleported back to the main hall of the Watchtower, where they were rejoined by Batman, Wonder Woman, and Dr. Fate.

When the Dark Knight noticed Danielle behind the team, his face instantly switched into his signature bat-glare. "Who is this?" he demanded at once.

Everyone looked at Batman with full-on anxiety, having no idea how to begin their explanation. Danielle, however just walked forward with a confident smile, still holding Cujo in her arms.

"Danielle Fenton," the raven-haired woman told him, "but everyone just calls me 'Dani'."

Batman looked into Dani's eyes, and then trained onto her outstretched hand. However instead of shaking it, the Dark Knight just deepened his glare to the point where his eyes are barely visible behind his cowl, and backed away. Dani frowned as she raised an eyebrow, while Cujo furrowed his eyebrows dangerously and growled at Batman. A split second later, Flash stood between them with a bright smile etched on his face.

"Don't worry about him." The Speedster assured, jerking a thumb behind him at Batman. "He has trust issues, me on the other hand," He clutched onto Dani's still-extended hand with both of his own, and shook it rather overzealously, "the name's Flash, the fastest man alive, and any friend of Rachel's is a friend of mine. That's Batman by the way," He jerked his head to the Dark Knight, "and that's Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Doctor Fate." He indicated the other heroes also with his head, his mouth going a mile a second. He did those things all while holding on to Dani's hand.

Dani stared gawkily at the red-clad hero as he threatened to shake her arm off of its socket. She jerked her hand out of Flash's grasp. "Uh, it's nice to meet you too." she replied, and then flicked her hand back and forth to regain the blood flow. "Thanks for that, by the way."

Batman fixed his glare at his fellow heroes. "You still haven't answered my question, and since _when _did we allow unauthorized entry into the Watchtower."

Silence filled the room again as everyone turned their to Beacon, who's cheeks flushed when all of their eyes were trained on her.

"Explain." Batman demanded of her.

Beacon reeled back slightly in fear. She'd never been on the receiving end of one of the Dark Knight's interrogation methods, and now having experienced it, she never wanted to feel it again. After taking a deep breath, she began to speak. "She's my mentor," she told him, "and one of my closet friends." She looked away for a second, a sad expression on her face. "One that I told died along with everyone else."

The other Leaguer's eyes widened at what she had said, and even Batman's glare softened slightly as he took in the young girl's words. Dani slowly walked past the crowd and pulled Beacon into a one-armed hug.

"I know you must've felt very lonely, Rach, and I'm sorry for that," said Dani, when they broke apart, "but I'm here now."

Beacon stared into Dani's eyes. "but how did you find me?" she repeated.

At this Dani's lips curled up in a smile. "Simple," she answered as she gently placed Cujo down on the floor, then reached into the pocket in her sweatshirt, "with this." She finished as she pulled out an ancient looking scroll. Nearly everyone eyed the object with confusion, Beacon, however, knew exactly what Dani held in her hands.

"The infi-map?" she realized.

At this, Doctor Fate stepped forward to take a closer look at the scroll. "So it does exist."

"You know what this thing is?" inquired Green Lantern.

The Doctor turned to his colleagues. "According to legend," began the Lord of Order, "the Infi-map is a powerful magical item that grants the user the ability to teleport anywhere."

The heroes looked with amazement as they glanced from the scroll to Doctor Fate. All except for Batman, who just kept his glare on Dani.

"Close, but not quite," She informed, pressing her lips in a line, "the map was never designed for this scale of cross-dimensional travel, but," She turned to Beacon, "Frostbite got it to work eventually." It's been a long time since Beacon had heard that name. Dani smiled at her. "Here let me show you."

She held the scroll in a horizontal position, and rolled the two ends apart. When the map was fully extended, the other heroes looked at a black canvas with swirling green lines underneath a grid-like system. Countless tiny dots littered the surface of the map, flicking in and out of focus, like the tiniest of tiny spotlights.

Everyone gathered around the map and ogled with fascination, while Dani looked at them with amusement. "Here's where we are now," she pointed at some small, random point on the map, "and _here_…" she swiped the surface of the map with her finger, in the same manner one would on a touchscreen. The points on the map quickly shifted the side that Dani swiped at a breakneck pace until she placed her finger on the map again. "…is where we're from." Of course she meant _her_, Cujo,and Beacon.

The surrounding Leaguers were at a complete loss for words. None of them had seen anything even close to resembling this.

"Fascinating," exclaimed Doctor Fate in a low voice, "even _I_ am having difficultly comprehending this."

Dani smiled warmly at the sorcerer. "Don't worry," she reassured, "I'm not gonna pretend I understand it either."

Flash continued to stare at the map as he exhaled a long, drawn-out whistle. "So this thing is like the _ultimate _of ultimate vacation getaways." Slowly, he extended his arm, trying to put a hand on the map.

Dani frowned, and hastily jerked the scroll out of the Speedster's reach. "Careful!" She barked with narrowed eyes. "This isn't a toy. You don't want to do something you'll regret."

Flash blinked a second, and then backed up while staring at the floor, looking embarrassed. Dani quietly rolled the scroll back up and stowed it back into her pocket. There was another moment of silence as Beacon looked at her, an aching thought in her mind. She had avoided the question for so long, but now that Dani was here, she might as well ask and get it over with.

"How many others?" Dani turned to her when she spoke. "How many others survived? How are things back home?"

Dani's face became more somber. "I'm not going lie to you, Rach," she began after a long sigh, "it's been bad, HQ was completely destroyed in the explosion, and we suffered massive casualties." Dani paused to swallow the lump in her throat. "It took us months just to figure out who officially died. We eventually managed to get accountability of everyone, but… we estimated that only ten percent survived the explosion."

Beacon gasped at what she had just heard. She stumbled backwards when she saw the room start spinning. Back then, she knew it was bad, but this… this was just awful! She was brought back to reality when she felt a pair of hands clutch firmly onto her arms, keeping her from falling over. The Halfa turned and saw Supergirl standing behind her, acting as her brace.

Dani's eyes fell as they shined with unshed tears. "I'm sorry, Rachel." She repeated with a shaken voice. "When we didn't find you, we assumed the worst, but one day we got a tip that you ended up in another universe. After that we wasted no time in trying to find you." The tears were flowing now, and another sorrowful silence filled the room.

"I-I know I failed you," Dani admitted, "just like I failed Jonah, and… Robin." Beacon stared at her mentor. All of a sudden, she felt an extreme pang of unforgiveable selfishness. For the longest time, she had been so consumed with her own grief that she never even thought that others had been suffering along with her. The Halfa slowly walked forward, and wrapped her arms around Dani. The older woman returned the favor, and for a while they silently sobbed in the each other's embrace. The only sound that could be heard in the room was Cujo's low whimpering as he rubbed his head against Dani's leg.

"It's okay," Beacon would whisper on occasion, "it's not your fault."

A small gentle cough snapped them out of the pair's embrace and they separated, they turned to see the other Leaguers staring at them with the deepest levels of sympathy, well except for Batman, but everyone seemed have ignored his glare, while Wonder Woman and Supergirl looked on with tears of their own.

"Um… sorry to interrupt," Superman began after a pause, "any-who, so Dani, I think it's safe to say that you're not here under hostile pretenses."

Dani wiped her tears with her sleeved before look the Man of Steel with the strictest confidence as she gave her reply. "And you would not be wrong about that." Several of the Leaguers smirked at her response, Batman even raised an eyebrow.

Superman blinked at the woman, before continuing, "But may I ask why exactly you are here?"

Dani stared at him. "You mean other than seeing one of my best students and personal friend?" she turned to Beacon. "Well, there _is _something else. Something I need to give you, or rather… _return _to you."

Beacon furrowed her eyebrows, not know where Dani was going with this. Dani reached into the pocket in her sweatshirt again, and this time pulled out a small, bright-blue cube. She tossed the cube into the air over her head, the cube fell back down, but instead of landing on the floor, it floated about a foot from Dani's face.

The cube began to glow as a holographic projection of a flat-screen appeared. Several panels of small words and images littered the screen as Dani swiped them to the side with her index finger in the same manner she did with the Infi-map.

"No,no," she would mutter periodically, until finally, "ah. Here we go." She stopped swiping and instantly the panels stopped moving. Dani gently clapped her hands together and extended them in vertical fashion. The panel she'd selected stretched outwards, increasing in size. Then to almost everyone's amazement, Dani reached her hand into the hologram, and pulled a solid object out of it. She then pushed the holographic panel back into the screen, and finally grabbed the cube with her hand, deactivating the small device.

The object in Dani's hand resembled a small, metallic-looking doll. It had a perfectly spherical head with patches of green color towards the sides and the top of its head was grayed out slightly with an outline of a crew-cut hair style. Two dark green horizontally thin rounded-rectangles placed where the eyes normally would be, as well as another, smaller black rectangle placed where the mouth should be. The doll had no neck but had a white, and somewhat cone-shaped body, stubby arms with four-fingered hands, and cylinder-like legs, of which painted the same color as the patches on the side of its head.

Beacon gasped again as she studied the doll in Dani's hand, while everyone else stared on in various levels of confusion and astonishment.

"But this is…" Beacon muttered in disbelief, she turned her eyes to Dani. "B-but I thought he was destroyed, I mean after the blast he took…"

"I know," Dani answered before the younger girl could finish, "We thought he was a goner too, but luckily R&amp;D had managed to fix him." Dani let out a brief chuckle. "They were lucky that Robin had the foresight to save the schematics on him." Beacon slowly reached out, and took the doll from Dani's hand.

"R&amp;D estimated that he should function like he'd always have, but before that, he has to be reactivated," Beacon turned her eyes to her, still looking somewhat confused, "with a sample of Robertson DNA."

Beacon's eyes widened before looking back at the doll in her hand.

"Rach?" asked Supergirl, leaning in for a closer examination. "So what exactly is this thing?"

Beacon looked at her as a small smile formed on her lips. "One second." she replied. Then holding the doll upright with both of her hands, and slowly brought her lips onto its forehead.

For a moment, nothing happened. That was until the doll's eyes began to glow bright-green, and a shining green light began to surround its figure. Beacon let go of the doll and brought her arms down. Surprisingly, the doll didn't plummet to the floor, but rather floated in the air on its own freewill.

Some of the heroes had to place their hands up to shield their eyes from the light. When the light faded, they lowered their hands, only gasp when they saw what was floating in front of them. The doll was now about eighteen-inch-tall robot, its two greens patches have extended into large antennae that protruded diagonally to the sides. His horizontal eyes were now vertical and glowed bright-green.

No one dared to say anything as the robot slowly whirled his head around the room, making tiny metallic sounds as it moved, the heroes didn't know whether to feel scared or threatened as the small machine's eyes glanced over them for a brief second, and continued to scan his surroundings

"Echo?" Beacon asked softly as she took a step closer. The heroes looked at her, unsure if they'd heard correctly.

The robot's head whirled around upon hearing his name. When he saw the Halfa, his eyes enlarged into ovals and his mouth dropped open. Then before anyone could react, Echo launched himself forward, positively hugging the side of Beacon's face with his entire body. Beacon stumbled slightly backwards when the small robot made contact with her face.

"_Rachel,_" Echo said in a synthetic voice reminiscent to that of a male pre-teen, "_it is wonderful to discover that you are alive and well._"

Echo's bright grin caused the observing Leaguers to exchange curiously looks at each other. Beacon, however, just smiled and hugged the robot back with one hand.

"It's great to see you too. I've missed you."

"_As have I,_" Echo they finally broke apart, Echo's smile faded as he took another look around. "_However, may I request that you divulge me our current location?_" he asked. "_My scans have indicated that we are not in the Headquarters district._"

Beacon's face fell at his words. "No, we're not." She confirmed. "We're in the Watchtower; in another universe."

Echo stared at her for a few seconds. "_I see. Then that would provide the adequate explanation as to why they,_" he turned to face the other Leaguers, "_are not on any of my databases._"

Some of the Leaguers were so startled, that some of them even dropped into a combat stance.

"Whoa, there little guy." Flash said, holding his hands up in peace.

"Wait, wait." Beacon exclaimed, stepping between them. "These people aren't our enemies; they're friends, very powerful friends."

Echo looked at her before turning back to the other Leaguers. "_Very well,_" he said in his passive, albeit synthetic voice, "_Greetings, my name is Echo. I've served with Rachel and her team during her tenure in the 'Guardian Program'._"

"So, you are a Guardian too." Supergirl put together.

"_Correct._" replied Echo, looking her in the eye. _"One of my primary functions was to gather the necessary information required for mission success._"

"And let me tell you all that we owed a _lot _of those successes to him." Beacon added with a pleasing smile.

The Leaguers exchanged looks of amazement, before Green Lantern spoke, "What kind of information are we talking about here?"

Echo turned to the Leaguers. "Any _information._" he answered simply. "_Allow me to demonstrate, stand by."_

Echo's eyes glowed even brighter as he stared at the heroes.

"_Scan complete._" He stated. "_Of the eight of you: three appear to have a different biology than that of a human as well as a ghost, two are emitting a very powerful magical aura. Lastly, three are human, though none are average by any means."_

The heroes widened their eyes again, amazed that in barely a blink of an eye, the mini-automation had completed seven thorough scans.

"Wow," exclaimed Flash, "You guys really are something."

Echo's metallic mouth formed a genuine smile. "_Thank you, if you wish, I can demonstrate more of my capabilities._"

"THAT'S IT!" Everyone turned just in time to see Batman storming towards the door. "Meeting! _NOW!_" he barked.

The other founding Leaguers each breathed an exasperated sigh before making their way out of the room, one by one.

"We shouldn't be long." Superman assured before the door shut behind him. With the founding Leaguers gone, that left Beacon, Supergirl, and Doctor Fate with Dani and Echo.

"_Did my last statement provoke some form of irritability?_" Echo asked with a hint of innocence.

"Beats me." Dani admitted. "I can hardly get a read on that guy."

Beacon stared at the door that the Founder walked through. She had a limited understanding as to what sparked Batman's behavior. "I think everything you've shown so far just overwhelmed him." She explained.

"Heck," Supergirl spoke for the first time in what felt like a long time, "I've seen a lot advance technology, and I am _still _overwhelmed by you guys." The newcomers smiled at the Kryptonian.

"So don't let it bother you too much," Beacon added, "Batman grows on you after a while."

After a few minutes, Doctor Fate turned to the three women and the miniature automaton. "Well, Ms. Fenton, and Echo," the pair turned to him, "since you are _not _here under hostile means." He said. "I should make the return to my home."

Before he left, Beacon announced. "Say hi to Amazo for me, will you?"

Doctor Fate nodded. "I shall. Good day."

A bright purple ankh appeared behind him, and a flash of light later, he was gone.

"_Who is this Amazo?_" Echo asked Beacon.

The Halfa smiled. "He's an android. We've met a couple of weeks ago. He was having… identity issues, but Doctor Fate and I helped him find his way." She paused for second before adding, "I told Amazo that he reminded me of you."

Echo stared at the Halfa for another few seconds. "_Interesting, I look forward to a possible meeting with him._"

"Just don't have a conversation with anyone around." Beacon chuckled. "The two of you together might fry everyone's brains."

The robot looked at her with an impassive look. "_I am quite capable of achieving that on my own._"

"Wait, What?!" Supergirl exclaimed, reeling backwards.

Beacon, Dani, and Echo stared at the Girl of Steel, then at each other, before Beacon and Dani burst into laughter.

"_That,_" Echo began amongst the laughing. His voice was still somewhat impassive, but it was contradicted by his grin, "_was a joke._"

Supergirl blinked as her cheeks flushed red, and then she glared at them was enough fury to burn down a building, her eyes even started to glowed the slightest shade of red.

Beacon wiped her eye with her index finger before putting a gentle hand on Supergirl's shoulder. "Kara, relax. Echo does this kind of thing all the time."

The blond Kryptonian made an angry pout, and crossed her arms tightly across her chest. "Well, how was I supposed to know that?" she demanded.

"_Apologies,_" Echo stepped in, "_However I assure you that I have no harmful intent._"

Supergirl simply scoffed at the robot and turned slightly away. Beacon sighed and slumped slightly. What was it that Kara said about Kryptonians having hard heads?

"Don't worry, Echo." She assured. "She'll be alright; just a little embarrassed is all." Another scoff came out of Supergirl's throat.

"_Acknowledged._" the robot replied. Then he turned to observe the room again. "_This space station appears to be quite the phenomenon of engineering. I look forward to studying its inner workings._" His eyes glowed again as he began scanning inside of the Watchtower.

"Wait!"

Echo's eyes dimmed back to their normal intensity as he glanced at Beacon, her eyes wide and her hand was stretched out in attempt to stop him.

"I don't think Batman would appreciate you snooping around the League's headquarters," She advised him, "at least not without permission."

"_Understood,_" Echo complied. "_I will refrain from scanning without the proper authorization._"

Beacon breathed a sigh of relief. "If you want, I can give you a tour of the place."

Echo's mouth curled into a bright smile. "_That would benefit a great deal._" He replied. "_Thank you._"

"Don't mention it."

The pair of them made their way through the door, and out of the room. Supergirl started to follow them, but she stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hold on a minute, Supergirl" Dani requested. "May I talk to you?"

"Um, sure." Supergirl answered with a shrug.

* * *

**The League's Conference Room**

"They have to go." Batman stated with firm conviction.

The six founding Leaguers sat around the round table in their conference room, discussing the events that had just occurred in the main room. J'onn, who had been absent during that time, was quickly briefed on the situation. Once the meeting began, Batman wasted no time voicing his grievances.

"Aw, c'mon Bats. They don't seem that bad," Flash tried to reason with the Dark Knight, "I don't see what the big deal is."

"The deal _is_ we have a traveler from another universe carrying an extremely powerful, not to mention dangerous item, and as well as a miniature robot that could steal all of our secrets in a blink of an eye." Batman proclaimed. "They're dangerous."

"Bats, that's not fair," The Speedster retorted rather childishly, "They've said they aren't here to cause trouble."

"And what if that map got into the wrong hands?" Batman questioned. Some of the other Founders had to fight hard to resist the urge to roll their eyes. "What if that robot was captured and reprogrammed so it would be against us. _What if _next time someone appears, and they _are _here to cause trouble."

"Then we'll do what we've always done." Superman answered calmly. "We'll fight and protect the Earth and everyone in it."

"And from what we've seen so far," added Green Lantern, "Dani doesn't seem the kind to give up without a fight."

There was a moment of silence as Batman glared at his teammates. The fools, why must they always refuse the see reason?

"Bruce," said Wonder Woman as she gently put a hand on his shoulder, "this is the first time that Rachel had any contact from her home world. I have never seen that level of joy from her, which alone should grant Danielle and the others the benefit of the doubt."

"Hey, it's like I said," Flash leaned back on his chair with a bright smile, "any friend of Rachel's is a friend of mine."

Batman narrowed his eyes dangerously at the red-clad hero, and almost immediately, Flash's smile faded and he sat upright again.

J'onn, who had interlaced his fingers together in front him, and had remained silent for most of the meeting, finally spoke up. "Perhaps it would be in our best interest to maintain surveillance on these newcomers." He began slowly. "Until we have a deeper understanding about them."

"Seriously?!" Flashed demanded in disbelief. "How are we going to gain their trust by spying on them?"

"I never _trusted _them to begin with." Batman informed.

Superman sighed and put his hands on the round table. "I hate to admit it, but I would be more comfortable if we knew more about what Dani is capable of."

There was another awkward silence before Wonder Woman looked up at her fellow Leaguers with a rather mysterious smile. "Actually, there is a method of founding out."

* * *

**Watchtower: main room**

Dani walked over to an enormous window, which had clear view of deep space as well as the Earth below, and sat down on a chair. Supergirl did the same with an opposing seat, except she did it a little more anxiously. For a moment, they were silent as Dani studied the blond Kryptonian. While the latter put her hands together, and twiddled her thumbs.

"So, Supergirl." Dani finally began.

"Please, call me Kara." The Kryptonian interrupted.

"Okay, _Kara. _How long have you been dating Rachel?"

Supergirl jerked her head up to look at the older woman, her cheeks a shade of bright red. "Wha- how did you…?"

"Know?" Dani finished for her, and then she laughed. "Please. I've seen the way she looks at you. It's the same look she'd used to give me all those years ago."

Supergirl blinked as she registered what she had just been told. "Wait, does that mean… Were you…?"

"Oh, relax, Kara." Dani said warmly. "Nothing ever happened." She looked out the window into the deep, dark void of space. "It was just a little school girl crush, that's all. Beside she eventually found someone else."

Kara thought deeply about what Dani had said, and quickly figured it out. "Ariella." She deduced.

"Bingo," Dani confirmed, turning back to her, "and that's what I wanted to talk to you about, but first: you didn't answer my question."

"Oh, yeah, um," Kara sat straighter in her seat. "Next week makes it three months."

"Okay," Dani replied. Then she leaned closer and put a hand on Kara's shoulder. "I want to extend my thanks."

"Oh? For what?" Kara wondered.

"When Ari was alive, she and Rachel were happy as can be." Dani clarified as she sat back in her chair. "It was a quite a shock really, at first Ariella and Rachel had… _difficulties _working together, but in the end, they found love in each other." Her face fell into a wave of sadness. "So when she died… I can only imagine what she was going through."

Kara blinked again; in all the time she's known her, Rachel had one of the easiest people to get along with. How anyone could've thought otherwise was beyond her. Her train of thought crashed when from out of nowhere, the entire room was drowned in darkness.

"Ah!" Kara yelled in surprise. "The heck's going on?"

Dani, however, just sighed in the darkness. "Three, two, one." She counted in a low voice.

"_Attention, Justice League,_" Echo's voice emitted from the announcement system, "_We are currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please remain calm as countermeasures are currently being administered to amend this issue. Thank you for your patience and cooperation. Stand by._"

"Yep, that's Echo alright." Dani commented. Then a glowing green energy sphere appeared above her palm, illuminating both her and Kara's faces, as well as a small part of their immediate area. "Anyway, where was I?"

"Oh, uh, you were thanking me."

"Ah, right. Look Kara, Rachel has been like a sister to me for a long time, but when I first came to this universe looking for his. I honestly didn't know what to expect, but it was great to find out that she'd managed to be happy again, and last but not least, she'd found love again in _you_."

The lights in the main room finally came back on, and Dani closed her hand to make the energy sphere disappear. Then she pulled Kara into a gentle hug.

"For that I am truly grateful." She whispered. "Thank you.

They broke apart, and exchanged smiles. Then Dani spoke again.

"There's one more thing."

"What is it?"

"I noticed you and Superman wear the same symbol." Dani pointed out. "Are you two… siblings?"

Kara blinked at her observation. "Oh, uh, no." she answer. "We're cousins."

Upon hearing this, Dani raised her eyebrows. "Really?" she said slowly. Then her lips curved into a grin. "Well, that's interesting. What's it like working with him?"

"Um, it's okay, I guess." Kara muttered.

Dani's lips pressed into a line. "You don't seem too sure about yourself."

Kara forced herself to meet Dani's eyes. "Well, at times it's not that easy." She explained. "Before I arrived on Earth, Superman'd already made a big name for himself. When I got into the scene…" she looked down, flushed with embarrassment. She sighed before continuing, "to this day most people still see me as Superman's younger, less experienced, cousin."_ And it doesn't help with him not liking the idea of who I am dating._

"I see," said Dani after a pause, "I realize that must've been difficult for you, Kara, and I'm sorry for putting you on the spot, but I will tell this," She leaned closer to the Kryptonian again. "Experiences will come and go, but never let go of your family ties. They will always be there to help you."

Kara blinked at the older woman. "Where are you going with this?" she wanted to know. "Do you know something about this that I don't?"

Dani let out a soft chuckle as she leaned back in her chair. For some reason, this irritated Kara a little bit. "Oh, I would't say _that_, but I've had my fair share of-"

The conversation was brought to a halt when door slid open, and Beacon walked back into the room wearing a slightly agitated face, Echo floating completely upright alongside her head level.

"Sorry about that," she said, "everything was going fine until we got to the archives room," She turned to glare at the little robot, "and that's when _somebody _decided to log himself in."

Echo kept a blank expression as he glance at each woman, before turning back to Beacon. "_Apologies, however I now have more than sufficient data on this universe._"

Beacon rolled her eyes, and looked at Kara. "When he first tried to access the Guardian databases at HQ, he put the _whole_ base into lockdown for three days." She turned back to Echo. "I swear. I was never so glad to see the sun in my life!"

Dani laughed at the inside joke as Beacon glanced back to them. "So, what'd you two talk about?"

Kara looked over at Dani, who gave her an unconcerned smile.

"Oh, nothing really." Kara told Beacon. Then a wicked smirk appeared on her face "Dani just told me about how you used to be in love with her."

Beacon gasped as her cheeks turned beet red. Then she stared at her old mentor. "Wha-? D-Dani!" she exclaimed with a mixture of exasperation, frustration and humiliation.

Kara laughed, and then got off her seat to put wrap her arms around Beacon's neck. "Oh relax. It was cute." She told the Halfa before giving her a quick peck on the lips.

The door opened again and this time, the six founding Leaguers entered the room with Wonder Woman leading the pack.

"Dani?" She asked when the heroes have made their way to the group.

"Yes, Wonder Woman."

The Amazon put her hands on her hips, giving her a completely empowering presence. "The League would like to evaluate your skills." she announced with a confident smile. "So I am here to challenge you to a friendly competition in hand-to-hand combat. Do you accept?"

**And there you have it folks. The DP and DC universe crossover once again, and now we have Danielle Phantom and company appearing on-scene.**

**Just for clarification, Echo is inspired by the character Robotboy from the TV series of the same name. Except his colors are white and green, instead of white and blue. As well as having a distinguishable hair markings, and a clear speech pattern. I hope you'll grow to like him.**

**Be sure to stay tuned for part two, because next time: it's Wonder Woman VS Danielle Phantom!**

**What'd you guys think? Liked it? Hate it? Tell me in the comments.**

**Thank you and see you next time.**


	14. In-between Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own JLU or DP.**

**Last time we were left off with Dani Phantom coming into the DC universe, and now she's about to go toe-to-toe with none other than Wonder Woman.**

**Before we begin though, I would like to thank you all of viewing this story. Over 6850! WOW thank you. Also your comments are always appreciated.**

**Now... MORTAL KOMBAT!... sort of?**

Beacon of Justice

In-between Chapter 4

**Watchtower: training room**

Wonder Woman made her way to the center of the room. The Amazon slowly rolled her head in circles to loosen the muscles in her neck. After taking a deep breath, she turned to meet the gaze of Danielle, or her preferred name: _Dani_, Fenton. No more than ten minutes ago, Diana had challenged the visitor from another universe to a fight. At first this took Dani by surprise, but after seeing Rachel Robertson's excited smile and nod of reassurance, the raven-haired woman happily accepted.

"So," Dani began, loosening her shoulders, "Any special rules in this bout I need to be aware of?"

Wonder Woman eyed Dani thoughtfully for a moment, before shrugging. "I suppose just go until someone submits or can physically continue no longer."

Dani gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Simple enough," but then her smile faded as she moved her eyes throughout the entire training room. "I hope this place can take it." She turned back to the warrior princess. "I mean I don't want to rip a hole in your space station."

The Amazon merely smirked at her comment. "Oh, don't you worry. This training facility is more than capable."

Right as Diana finished talking, a voice spoke over the intercom. "_Alright, you ladies ready?_" came Superman's voice.

"Ready." The Amazon kept her eyes trained on Dani as she gave her simple reply.

Dani, on the other hand, turned her eyes up to the control room. "I'm good to go." She announced with a grin while giving Superman the thumbs-up.

* * *

Up in the control room with the Man of Steel were the other Leaguers present during the conversation in main hall. All of them were waiting eagerly for the match to start. There was no mistaking the excitement in the atmosphere.

"So GL," Flash turned to his friend while throwing pieces of popcorn into his mouth, "Who'd you think's gonna win this one?"

The Lantern raised a curious brow. "Is that even a question? You've seen how Diana fights." He turned to look at the warrior princess below. "Besides, she's been training since she was born."

"Hmm, maybe," Flash inquired, "but I don't know, I think I might have to go with the wild card here."

"You have that much confidence in her?" questioned J'onn, "despite the fact that you two barely know each other?"

Flash turned to the Martian before shrugging, as well as continuing to eat his snack. "I'm just saying," the speedster answered, "Dani _is _Rachel's mentor after all. That _has _to count for something, right Rach?"

The Halfa, who was still in her ghost form, blinked for a second before taking her eyes off the training room. "What? Oh yeah sure." She answered dismissively. Her mind was so focused on the two below that she could barely register what Flash had asked her.

It had been a little over a year since Rachel had last seen Dani, and so finding her in Central City had been beyond jubilation for her. Now she was going to able to see her old friend go up against one of this world's most powerful women all in the same day. The Halfa felt chills crawl onto her skin as she waited with anticipation.

Floating leisurely in place to Rachel's left was Echo, the miniature robot that the Halfa had reactivated when Dani had arrived in the Watchtower. Echo simply fixed his gaze downwards, completely expressionless, patiently waiting for the bout to start. While standing on her own two feet to Rachel's left was Kara, the blonde Kryptonian was on the near same level of excitement as her girlfriend, but mainly because she had no idea what she was expecting.

Over at the control panel, Superman had finished typing the codes for the training room. "Alright, starting hard-light generator." He spoke into the microphone again. "Try not to break anything will you?"

* * *

The two women didn't answer as the loud whirring sound began to erupt inside the training room. Dani looked away from Wonder Woman and gazed at the streaks of white light that began to envelope the room. When the lights disappeared, they were standing in the middle of an intersection of a deserted metropolitan city.

"Hard-light constructs in _this _confined of a space." Dani commented as she turned back to Wonder Woman. "Now _that_ is neat."

Wonder Woman grinned at her. "I'm pleased to see you're impressed." Then she shifted into a fighting stance. "Now shall we?"

"Ready when you are." Dani answered with a grin of her own, before moving into a fighting stance as well.

As they stood before each other, the silence in the air was so apparent that the entire space station might as well have been empty. The only thing that the combatants and audience could hear was that low, annoying pitch whenever anything becomes too quiet.

After standing in place for what seemed like forever, Dani aimed a straight punch at Wonder Woman at near break-neck speed. The Amazon reacted instinctively and blocked the simple attack with her wrist, but she had no time to think as she jerked her head back to avoid Dani's left cross, and again to avoid an uppercut. The woman's relentlessness admittedly caught Diana by surprise, Dani was throwing punches, as well as jabs left and right, giving her little or no room for any sort of counterattack. The Amazon quickly learned she'd either need to get some distance right away, or this will become very one-sided very quickly. Deciding to take a gamble, Diana threw a straight punch at Dani's chest, and fortunately for the princess it was able to connect. The downside was it left her face open for Dani's balled up fist to collide with her cheek, causing tiny dots spark into her vision.

The forces of the two women's attacks were enough to make them both grunt loudly and stumble backwards. Wonder Woman was first to recover and she sped towards Dani with her fist cocked back. Dani shifted her body to the side with just enough room for the Amazon to zoom past her. She then added to Diana's momentum by shoving her with the sole of her foot.

Diana regained her balance as quick as she could and spun around just in time to push Dani's straight punch away from her face. The Amazon retaliated with a right cross, but it was blocked by Dani's left forearm. Then shifting her weight, Dani swung her right leg, and aimed it at Diana's temple. Diana drew back her hands and caught her ankle it made contact with her face.

After tightening her grip on Dani's ankle, Diana effortlessly threw Dani over her shoulder, and down the road, where she crashed several yards away.

* * *

Up in the control room, the silence was finally broken.

"Whoa!" Flash exclaimed at the spectacle below. "Dani is starting off with absolute authority."

"Yeah?" Green Lantern countered, "Then she got tossed around like a rag-doll."

Flash turned and glared at Lantern. "Hey, that was nothin'! There's still a lot of fighting left."

* * *

Dani shook her head to clear it. When her vision completely worked again, the woman looked up to see Wonder Woman landing before her, with hands on hips, and a smirk that was full of bravado.

"Had enough?" She teased.

Dani slowly got back to her feet, wincing as she felt her stiff joints pop. Although other than that, her crash didn't seem to have left her with any physical injury. Not even a speck of dust had gotten onto her clothes. "Are you kidding?" She questioned. "I'm just getting started."

"That's what I like to hear." Diana replied. "Show me what you got."

Dani smirked devilishly at the Amazon. "Oh, don't worry," she assured in a dark tone before returned to her fighting stance, "I _will_."

Diana raised an eyebrow, but then she narrowed her eyes when she felt goosebumps pop onto her skin. The overall temperature in her immediate area seems to have dropped ten degrees. The Amazon quickly hopped backwards to distance herself from Dani, and resumed her fight stance. _Is she about to...?_

Slowly, Dani closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she reopened them, her irises flashed, changing from blue to bright-green. A split second later, a white ring appeared around her waist, and began to split off into two directions. Diana keep her eyes fixed on Dani as her form began to change. She was now wearing a long-sleeved bodysuit that left an opening for her midriff. On her chest was a white logo in a combination of the letters D and P. Right below her logo was a silver strip that began at her right shoulder and extended across her chest to the left side of her waist. The strip circled back up across the back of her outfit to meet her right shoulder again. From the top of the silver strip, her right sleeve was also silver. On her right hand she wore a black glove that stretched passed her elbow. While her left sleeve was black, and the glove was silver. Her pants were curve-cut and had large, sliver shapes that extended down the side of her legs and wrapped around the ankle of her pant-legs. On her feet was a pair of silver boots.

Dani's beanie was now gone, and her completely visible hair was now snow-white. Seeing Dani in her ghost-form brought a smirk to Diana's face. Now the _real_ fight begins.

* * *

Over at the control room, Rachel felt a smile creep up on her face. She has long since grown accustomed to a Halfa changing from one form to another, but it's been so long since she's actually seen another person do it. From behind her, Flash let out a long whistle, and said with a wide grin. "Talk about making an entrance. This is so _exciting_."

"So Dani put up a light-show." jabbed Lantern. "Let's focus on how she really fights."

Over to Rachel's right, Kara noticed something that sparked her curiosity. "Hey Rach?"

"Hm?" the Halfa turned to her girlfriend.

"What does the 'DP' stand for?" The other Leaguers turned in Rachel's direction, eager to hear her explanation.

"Well, it stands for 'Danielle Phantom'." said Rachel. "It's like her superhero name."

After several sounds of 'oh', Superman spoke up. "So her real name is Fenton, but her other name is _Phantom?_"

"That's not very creative..." Green Lantern chimed in.

Rachel chuckled at Lantern's comment. "If you think that's bad, her cousin's name is nearly identical."

"Wait, her _cousin?_" Kara blurted out.

Rachel smiled at the blond Kryptonian. "Yeah,'DP' is actually a homage to her cousin: _Danny _Phantom."

Kara blinked in shock. Her eyes met Clark's for brief moment, but then just as quickly, they turned away from each other. Kara's mind immediately brought her back to her previous conversation with the older Halfa. She then realized that her advice was more personal than she give them credit for.

* * *

Dani stood upright and raised her arm. A blast of green energy shot out from her palm and straight towards Wonder Woman. The Amazon reacted a little later than usual but still managed to block the shot with her bracelets, but she didn't anticipate that the blast would cause to her skid down the road, nor did she expect her arms to tingle painfully from the attack.

Diana moved her forearms out of her face, only to have enough time to gasp before Dani's fist smacked her right across her face. This time it actually made her cry out in pain. The older Halfa then quickly clocked the Amazon a second time, causing her head to violently whip to the other side, before hitting her a third time. With a short grunt, Dani sent an uppercut right in the center of Diana's jaw. Then, utilizing the momentum from the attack; the older Halfa planted her palms on the ground, and punted the princess in the gut with her feet, causing Diana to sail high into the air. Right as she slowed down, Dani was right there to thrust her knee into Diana's midsection. The Amazon gasp for air as pain shot through her body. However Dani wasn't finished. She grabbed Diana's arms and rabidly spun in place, gathering speed with each rotation, before releasing her. Diana soared through the air, completely disorientated, until she smashed through the window of a skyscraper, and skipped across the office floor like a flat stone on water.

Dani flew through to the hole that Diana had just created and began to survey the inside.

_Ponk!_

"Ow!" Dani yelped, as she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. Then from seemingly out of nowhere, Diana charged at Dani, and tackled her out of the building, sending them both tumbling towards the ground at near-terminal velocity.

As the two women fell, Dani struggled to escape from Diana's grasp, but her hold around her back was unyielding. Seeing no other option, the Halfa shifted out of her corporeal form, and almost immediately slipped out of the Amazon's grasp. Diana blinked when she realized that Dani had just phased past her body. Although this did little to shake her out of her poise, while her momentum still carried her downward, Diana whipped her body around and threw her lasso upwards. Dani realized what she was up to a split second too late. The lasso went taut around her ankles, and she felt herself being jerked downwards again. Diana landed hard her on her feet, the impact shook the ground a bit but did nothing to her. The Amazon yanked on her lasso and swung hard, using the momentum gathered to smack Dani onto the road. The slam caused the road to shatter and managed to create a shallow but large crater. Deciding not to give Dani any breathing room, Diana swung her lasso again, causing Dani to scrape along the side of the building, before finally smashing her face into a lamp post.

Dani fell to the ground, grimacing as she felt her body throb in pain. When her head stopped spinning, she looked up to see Wonder Woman standing over her, still having a firm grip on the lasso. Dani slowly propped herself up onto her hands and knees. That's when she realized that the rope was still taut around her ankles.

The Halfa sighed. "For someone who hasn't fought ghosts very often, you sure know a lot."

"I've been observing Rachel for over a year," Diana replied, "I have a fair knowledge of the basics, and seeing as you're her mentor, there must be similarities in both of your fighting styles."

"Makes sense." Dani rubbed the back of her head, and winced sharply when she felt the sore spot. "By the way, what'd you hit me with?"

In answer, the Amazon pointed to the lone star on her tiara. "This is more than just for looks."

"Huh, well it did feel small."

Dani leisurely floated herself off the ground until she was about a head higher than Diana. The latter narrowed her eyes before hurriedly dropping her weight and putting two hands on her lasso.

"You know," Dani began with a smirk, "I could just phase my legs out of this, but you said you knew the basics. So I might as well change it up a little." As Dani finished her sentence, the Halfa's legs shifted into a wisp that flapped around like some sort of ghostly tail.

"What the-?" Diana cried out as she watched the end of her lasso fall to the ground, where the excess rope coiled around like a large thin snake. Then in a flash, she was sent tumbling through down the city block. The Amazon quickly used her momentum to roll backwards onto her feet, but didn't see Dani zoom in and punch her into the air with an uppercut. The Halfa followed Diana at break-neck speeds, and aimed a straight punch at the Amazon's face when she finally began to stall. On pure instinct Diana caught her wrist and threw a punch of her own. It landed squarely on Dani's cheek, making her grunt loudly in agony. The Amazon followed with two more punches before Dani had recovered enough and caught her wrist by her bracelet. For a moment the two women just floated on the spot, gritting their teeth and glaring into each other's eyes as they tried to overpower one another.

Diana's superior strength was beginning to win out and she was slowly pushing Dani back. The Amazon was so focused on overpowering her opponent that she didn't see the hand holding her bracelet had begun to glow. A split second passed and Diana felt massive jolts surge through her entire body. She yelled and instantly released her grip on Dani's wrist. The Halfa placed her hands in front of Diana's chest and shot a pair of energy blasts at point-blank range.

Diana whipped through the air again and crashed right into the brick wall of a building. Her body sunk in slightly, and created the near perfect outline her body made in the wall. She blinked and noticed Dani heading right towards her with her fist wound back. The entire building seemed to shake as Diana managed to stop Dani's punch inches from her face. With a heave, Diana drove Dani's fist into her own face and followed with a vicious knee into the Halfa's midsection. Dani made a sickening noise as Diana grabbed her shoulders and whipped her into the side of the building. With a firm pin on one of Dani's shoulders, Diana drew her fist and prepared to drive it right between Dani's eyes. Dani deduced Diana's plan and hastily grabbed the Amazon's other wrist. The two women both turned intangible and phased through the building, where they crashed onto the floor inside.

Dani and Diana tumbled across the room as they both tried to gain the advantage over the other. Then finally, Diana managed to separate herself from Dani by pushing her with two feet. The Halfa stumbled slightly backwards while the Amazon got back to her feet as fast as her body would allow her. Diana couldn't stop her body from shivering nor could she stop herself from taking short, ragged breaths. She felt like she was just submerged in water that was at subzero temperatures. Dani watched her squirm and expressed a slight smirk. The Half rushed forward and threw another punch at Diana's face. The Amazon managed block the attack by raising her left arm. She then grabbed the front of Dani's outfit, and pulled the Halfa close enough to slam her tiara against her forehead. Dani yelped in pain as she fell onto her back, holding the spot that just got hit. Diana wasted no time. She knelt down on top of Dani and punched her across the face. She immediately went in for another, but this time Dani was able to shift her body to the side, and firmly wrapped Diana's arm with both of her own. The Halfa then proceeded to encircle Diana's neck with her legs, and finally arched her back to apply pressure. Diana struggled to escape the triangle hold, but every second was becoming more and more painful and she was starting to feel lightheaded. The Amazon was eventually successful at tucking her chin to prevent further constriction. Now out of immediate danger of loss of consciousness, Diana grabbed Dani again and slowly got back to her feet. Diana lifted Dani higher over her head, and brought the Halfa down hard onto the floor, shattering the tiles. Pain shot through Dani's back and traveled throughout her body as she felt Diana slip from her grasp. The Halfa performed a rising handspring that turned into a propelled kick. She managed to hit Diana in the jaw, causing the Amazon to stumble back slightly. After landing on her feet, Dani dove towards Diana and wrapped her arms tight around her body. The two of them crashed through the window, and tumbled rabidly towards the ground. They continued to struggle and squirm against each other. Diana tore herself from Dani's arms, and used the opening to push the Halfa away with her legs. The change in velocity sent both women off course, and within a span of a few seconds, they crashed into opposite ends of the street.

When the dust finally settled, Diana crawled out from the rubble. Her body covered with light scuff marks, and there was a decently sized bruise on her left forearm. The Amazon painstakingly made her way back to the surface, and spotted the crater on the other end of the road. Slowly, Diana clutched onto the bruise on her arm, and dragged her heavy feet as she walked down the road. The Amazon took a moment to reflect upon this entire bout. Practically from birth, Diana had been training amongst the most hardened warriors in entire the world. She'd fought and brought down many foes ranging from the common criminals to mighty beasts, to aliens and even omnipotent beings. However, with all that said and done, Dani Fenton had been by far one of the toughest opponents she'd ever faced in combat. Therefore Diana thanked the Gods that the Halfa hadn't demonstrated any hostile actions against the League.

The last of the dust had finally disappeared when Diana reached the crater. The Amazon's eyes bulged when she realized that it was empty. Instinctively she put herself into high alert and began to survey the area, trying to deduce where the Halfa had gone to. Diana couldn't help but be angry at herself for failing to maintain her sight on her opponent. _How could such a warrior forget the simplest of basics?_ The Amazon had only finished mentally scolding herself when a low hum followed by a green light from her left side made her turn her head. She gasped slightly when she realized she was staring into a bright-green sphere of swirling energy mere inches from her face. Diana's every instinct told her to move out of the way, but her muscles were refusing to obey her brain's commands.

Diana's eyes shifted focus, and from behind the small energy sphere stood Dani, with her arm raised, and scuff marks over her body and clothes. Diana's shocked expression slowly disappeared and the Amazon just stared plainly into Dani's bright green irises with her icy blue ones. Dani's determined look remained unchanged as she slowly curled her fingers inward into a fist, extinguishing her energy. The Halfa remained indifferent as she closed the distance between her and the Amazon. Dani slowly stretched out her right hand and held it there. Diana's eye moved astonishingly from Dani's hand to her eyes, before curling her lips into a smile and accepting it with her own. As their hands shook, Dani returned Diana's smile as her white rings made a reappearance and she changed back into a human again.

* * *

"YEAH!" Flash pumped both arms in the air, throwing the now empty popcorn carton across the control room. He turned to Lantern with the brightest of smirks, and held out his hand expectantly. "Pay up! Sucka!"

"Yeah, yeah." Lantern replied, annoyed at the speedster. "Remind me later."

"Oh don't you worry, I won't forget."

Over at the front of the control room, Kara stared at Dani and Diana with wide eyes. "W-wow."

"I know," said Rachel, "that was breathtaking." The Halfa turned on her heels, and made her way out of the room. "Come on." she waved at the others. Echo floated out of the room without a moment's hesitation. Shortly after, the other Leaguers walked out of the room.

As the group of heroes walked into the training to rejoin the two women, Cujo ran up to Dani and leapt into her arms, barking with full enthusiasm.

"You two was amazing!" Rachel exclaimed as she gave both Diana and Dani a hug. Both women winced when the younger Halfa made contact with their sore bodies.

"You really had us on the edges of our seats." Supergirl commented.

"No doubt about that." Flash said with a wide grin. "And _I _won the bet."

"Big deal, so you guessed right." Green Lantern retorted. Then he turned to the two women. "Although I will say that you two _were_ something."

"I needed Dani to show me her full skills." Diana explained. Then she turned to the older Halfa. "Though I would admit it got more…intense towards the end."

Dani looked at the Amazon with a sad smile. "Sorry, I guess I got lost in the moment."

"Your apology is unnecessary." Diana assured. Taking a look at her arm, she noticed that the bruise on her arm had already begun to fade.

"Do you need medical attention though?" Flash asked Dani. "You took quite a wallop too during the fight."

Dani studied Flash for a moment before answering. "No, I'm good. Thanks." She then turned to Diana. "But that's not to say you didn't put up a good fight, Wonder Woman, because you did great."

The Amazon smiled at the older Halfa. "Thank you. I must say you have definitely been a worthy opponent, and please, call me Diana."

Dani beamed at the founding Leaguer. "Thanks Diana. That's very kind of you."

Right as she finished, Cujo yelped happily and put his tongue to Dani's face, which gained several "Aw's" as well as groans of disgust.

While the heroes continued to talk amongst themselves regarding the fight, at the back of the group Batman turned on his heels and silently made his way out of the training room. Based on everything he'd seen so far, he needed to go review the tape.

"So Dani," Green Lantern's voice brought the Halfa's attentions to him. "You've seen the training room so far, how about we give you a grand tour of the place."

At these words, a giant grin appeared on Flash's face and he blurred in between Dani and GL. "That's a great idea." The speedster said rapidly. "I'll gladly be the tour guide."

"Um, actually," Dani began in a somewhat awkward tone, "I have to get going."

"What?!" Flash and Rachel blurted out at the exact same time, and in the exact same surprised tone.

"B-But you just got here?" Rachel argued.

"I know, and I'm sorry," replied her old mentor, "but we're still rebuilding back home, and I still have a lot of responsibilities. Don't you worry though, I'll be sure…"

Before she could continue, Superman spoke up again. "Sorry," he reluctantly interrupted as he turned to his fellow Leaguers, "uh, guys. Why don't we give them some privacy?" Nearly everyone nodded and began to head towards the exit.

"Well, it was nice meeting you." Flash said to Dani with disappointed expression. Then the speedster held out his hand.

Dani moved her eyes from Flash's face to his hand. She was slightly wary of what she could be getting herself into, but nevertheless, she accepting it. "It was… nice to meet you too." The handshake this time was gentle. A small grin appeared on Flash's face, before he let go of Dani's hand and exited the room.

When the door was closed, Kara turned to Rachel.

"I'll be right outside, okay?" she announced softly.

Rachel smiled at her girlfriend, and then reached over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Okay." She replied simply.

Kara beamed at the Halfa. Then like the Leaguers before her, she left the room, leaving Rachel with her fellow Guardians from another universe.

"She's a good one." Dani complimented.

Even though Rachel felt her cheeks grow hot, her smile was absolutely radiant as she stared at the door that Kara had just walked through. "She's great." Then she turned back to her old mentor. "Now what were you going to say?"

"Oh yeah, I was going to say that you now have Echo here with you. I'll be sure to visit as often as I can."

Although Dani had said more, her first statement sparked a recent memory in Rachel's mind. Then as if sharing a mental connection, the younger Halfa and the miniature robot's eyes met at exactly the same time.

* * *

**Earlier**

The two reunited companions were just about to walk through the door to the records room when Echo's synthetic voice sounded out loud.

"_Rachel_, _before we advance any further, there is an important matter I wish to discuss with you."_

"Oh?" Rachel replied curiously. "Like what?"

"_Robin's last message addressed to you."_

This brought Rachel abruptly to a halt, and the Halfa turned to the robot with disbelieving eyes.

"_He left the file in my databanks available upon request._"Echo informed her. "_Would you like me to access it at this time?_"

Rachel looked away and bit her lower lip. This was yet another surprise that had caught her completely off-guard, but now that it's been brought up…

"No." She answered. "Not right now."

"_Very well,_" Echo acknowledged, "_I shall keep it within my databanks until you are ready._"

Rachel nodded and they continued down the hallway before finally entering the record room.

* * *

**Present**

"There's one last thing." Dani spoke again, snapping Rachel out of her flashback.

Dani reached into the pocket of her hoodie again. Cujo took this simple movement as a cue and hopped out of his owner's arms. Although instead of landing on the ground, this time the ghost dog simply floated in the air right next to Dani's head. The older Halfa pulled out small, black, rectangular object and held it out to Rachel.

"My badge?" she recognized.

"Yep," confirmed the older Halfa, "I think it's only right that you get it back."

The younger Halfa slowly reached for the thing with wide eyes. It was about the size of a wallet, made of soft, black leather. In the direct center was a shiny gold emblem of a pair of feathered wings attached to a circular shield. Immediately behind the shield were two crossed swords with their tips pointed downward at perfect 45 degree angles. Rachel observed more closely, and studied the four small words that were each etched in circular angles. The combination of these made another, smaller circle on the shield.

_Custos_

_Κηδεμόνας_

_Gardisto_

_Vormund_

When the leather made contact with Rachel's gloved hand, there was an unexpected, warm feeling behind it. As if the inanimate object somehow knew that it had just been reunited with its owner. Rachel sighed and locked eyes with Dani again. "Thanks." She said before stowing the item into the pocket of her jacket.

"There's no need for that. It's always been yours anyway." Dani told her. "And actually there've been some upgrades added to it." Rachel pulled out her badge again and opened it like a small book. The inside was bare save for the simple black, reflective screen attached to the right side.

"A new communicator was put in there. " Dani explained. "If you ever need my help, just speak into it and I'll be here as soon as I can."

Rachel nodded in understanding and stowed the badge in her pocket again. Dani reached into her pocket again and pulled out the Infi-map. The older Halfa then unrolled the scroll and pressed on a point of the map with her index finger. Instantly, there was a flash of bright blue light, Rachel closed her eyes to shield them from the intensity. When she reopened them, she saw an oval-shaped portal had appeared behind Dani. Beyond the portal were millions of tiny bright dots, like flickering stars in an ever expanding universe.

"So," Dani's voice caught her attention again, "see you later?"

"Wait a second." Rachel requested. Her eyes fell downwards slightly as so many thoughts raced through her mind. Once she managed to put them together, she gazed up again. "You're not gonna ask me to come back with you? You're not going to appeal to my sense of duty or anything like that?"

Dani stared at Rachel a few seconds, before slowly reaching out and put a hand on her shoulder. "Rach," began the older Halfa slowly, "I was never going to ask. You were always free to go to where your heart wanted you to go, but I will tell you this." She put her other hand on Rachel's other shoulder and bent over slightly until their eyes were at the same level. "I've watched you grow for the past ten years, and you have grown into a spectacular young woman. For that I will always be proud of you."

Rachel felt her eyes fill with tears and her vision become slightly blurred. She expressed the biggest smile her facial muscles could manage and flung her arms around Dani. The two Halfas shared a loving embrace for what seemed like an eternity before a loud yelp separated them.

The pair broke apart and immediately Cujo flew up to Rachel's face and licked the entire right side of her face with his flat tongue.

"Aw, I'll miss you too, Cujo. The younger Halfa said while she patted the puppy's head.

Cujo barked happily as he took one last look at the Halfa. Then the ghost dog turned on the spot, and flew straight towards the portal, where he disappeared as soon as he crossed its threshold.

Dani turned away from the portal to look at Rachel and Echo. The latter was still floating directly beside Rachel's left.

"You two take care of each other." Dani directed.

"We will." The younger Halfa replied immediately.

"_Affirmative._" Echo responded.

The three of them exchanged one last smile. Then the Dani made her way towards the portal. There was another flash of light, and Rachel found herself in the training room with Echo.

* * *

The two Guardians made their way out of the training room. Upon reaching the hall, they found Kara leaning against the wall with her hands behind her back. When the Kryptonian saw them, she immediately stood upright and walked towards them.

An idea sprang into Rachel's mind and she turned to her robotic friend. "Echo, why don't you go find J'onn in the monitor room and see if he needs any help?"

Echo studied her for a second before answering. "_Yes, it would provide me with the opportunity to start my new duties here on the Watchtower._"

"Cool, see ya later."

"_Indeed._" With that Echo starting to fly further down the hall, and eventually past Kara. "_Supergirl._" He greeted without looking at her.

"Hey." She replied.

When the two girls met up, Kara immediately asked. "So how was it?"

Rachel reached for Kara's hand and started to pull her along the hallway. "It was a lot easier than I'd thought it'd be." She admitted. "And she said she'd come visit as often as she can."

After a few minutes of walking hand in hand, they stopped at a large window with a clear view of the Earth below. This was the very spot they stopped at when they first set foot on the new Watchtower. Rachel turned around and sat on the guardrail while Kara simply leaned her weight against it.

Kara flipped open Rachel's badge and stared at the blank, black screen. Curious, the Kryptonian tapped the screen with her index finger. As soon as her gloved hand made contact with the screen, there was a honking noise as the surface illuminated, and a bright red 'X' enclosed in a square flashed in the screen.

Rachel chuckled slightly before gently taking the badge back. "Here." She reassured. "It just needs my DNA signature."

Rachel folded the cover behind the screen and held the badge parallel to her right eye. A bright, white, beam of light from the center of the screen shone directly into Rachel's pupil. The beam then began to fan out and scanned the entire surface of the Halfa's eye. A friendly beeping sound was heard as the light disappeared, and Rachel handed her badge back to Kara.

The blond Kryptonian was now staring at two side-by-side, head-shot pictures of Rachel in her human and ghost forms. In both pictures, the Halfa expressed a friendly smile that perfectly reflected her gentle personality. While her eyes were giving off an aura of fierceness that Kara had seen many times on a mission. The pictures of Rachel were hardly any different than the real thing, but one thing did stand out.

"Were these taken before your scar?" Kara asked, looking back at the Halfa.

Rachel's face fell. "Yeah," she confirmed. "It was about two years ago."

Kara turned back to the screen. Directly next to the pictures was a list of the basic information, such as her full name, hair and eye color, as well as her day of birth. Kara then swiped the screen to the side with her thumb.

"Awards and accommodations," she read in a mumble, "Certifications, and… Hey! What's this?"

Rachel jerked her head and saw Kara's eyes go wide and her lips had curled into a smug smirk. The Halfa felt her cheeks get hot as she swallowed nervously.

"Disciplinary infractions?" Kara's eyes moved frantically throughout the screen, and were getting wider with each passing second. Finally she turned back to Rachel. "You were a little trouble maker!"

Rachel's cheeks had now turned maroon. She quickly jerked her badge out of Kara's hand and stuffed it back in her pocket. "Fine, I'll admit I did do a few things that upset the higher-ups when I was younger."

Kara giggled at her girlfriend's behavior, and then put a hand on the Halfa's thigh. "Rach, don't worry about it. You turned out okay."

Rachel's blush faded slightly at Kara's words. "Thanks, I had a lot of guidance along the way. So that helped a lot."

Kara nodded as she figured out Rachel's meaning. "Dani does seem like a nice person." She admitted.

"She's _very _nice." Rachel agreed, turning to look out the window. "Having her as a mentor was one of the best things that ever happened to me."

"Yeah, I could tell," said Kara, "She's powerful, smart, and brave." Then she smirked again. "So what other teachers did you have a crush on?"

At these words, Rachel turned and smirked like Kara did. "I'm not gonna tell," she teased softly. She then got off the rail, took both of Kara's hands in her own, and held their interlaced fingers up in-between them. "Besides," Rachel continued, "now my heart belongs to someone else," Kara blinked once and smiled. "although I will admit sometimes she can be a bit of a bother."

"Hey!"

Rachel laughed. "Oh relax, Kara. You know I was kidding." With that said, the Halfa slowly leaned closer. Both girls shut their eyes as their lips were inches from connecting.

_CHUMP_

Everything stopped when from out of nowhere, the lights in the hallway turned off, filling the place with almost complete darkness. The only sources of light were the ones that reflected off the Earth and into parts of the tower.

"Ah!" Kara yelled in surprise. Along various parts of the station, other distance yells could also be heard.

Rachel breathed a slow sigh before screaming at the top of her lungs.

"_EEEECCCHHHHOOOO!_"

"_Stand by._"

* * *

**Another Universe**

The light that bounced off the ice covered walls gave the room a light bluish hue. The metal crates that were stacked two high made the place feel more cramped than it really was. Everything seemed to be undisturbed, that was until the bright oval-shaped portal appeared from out of nowhere. A split second later, Cujo burst out of the portal and began to sprint out of the ice-covered room in rabid happiness. Not long after, Dani emerged from the portal. An average person would have instantly started shivering at the drop in temperature, but the Halfa had been used to this climate for many years.

Dani ran a hand through her hair. After her whole adventure to another universe, she wanted nothing more than to just lie down and take a nice nap. She gasped when she felt a sharp chill down her spine, and a split second later, she saw the bright-blue wisp of her ghost sense escape her mouth.

"So, she didn't want to come back huh?" a woman's voice sounded from her right. Dani turned to that side, and eased up a little once she saw who it was.

Sitting on top of two crates was a pale-skinned young woman with bright green eyes, and purple lipstick. She had a black choker around her neck, wore a black leather vest with a tank top underneath that exposed her midriff. She had one long glove that covered most of her right arm. She wore of a silver belt, skintight, black leather pants. Lastly on her feet were a pair of silver, knee-high, flat-heeled, tactical boots with skull decals.

The most interesting thing about this woman was undoubtedly her hair. She had long, teal hair tied into a ponytail at the top of her head, with two locks framing her face. Her ponytail seemed to flicker on its own accord, mimicking the movement of fire.

"No," Dani answered her. "Her heart's in a different place now."

"That's so?" asked Ember McLain. "Well, that's her choice." She didn't look at Dani as she continued to tune the long handled, flame-shaped guitar that rested in front of her. After strumming the last cord, Ember slung her guitar behind her back, and hopped of the grates to join the Halfa.

"So what's it like over there?" she asked as they walked out of the room and into a long stretch of ice-laden hallway. "and… Is she okay?" Ember's face fell with concern.

"Everything's completely different," Dani reported. "There's nothing but clouds in the sky, but here's the kicker: that world has a plethora of superpowered beings, and they all band together to protect the world."

"So, it's filled with superheroes?" Ember deduced.

"Exactly, and Rach is-"

The two women stopped in their tracks when the metal door in front of them opened. Standing directly in from of them was an African-American woman with short black hair, and dark green eyes. Unlike the other two, who seemed to be dressed in street-level clothes, this woman wore a red and black-striped armored suit.

The woman's eyes found Dani and her lips curled up into a bright smile. "Hey, Dani. Good to see you're back."

"Hey, Val." The Halfa replied.

"So, I take it Rach didn't want to come back."

"Well, judging from how she isn't _here_." Ember began with a slight tone. "I think you hit the nail right on the head, Red."

"Ha ha, very funny Ember." Valerie replied with an eye roll. Then she turned her attention back to Dani. "How is she?"

"She's fine. She's better, _much _better than I thought. " Dani answered, look at both of them. "She's surrounded herself with a group of very friendly and powerful people. She's been working hard to protect that world on a daily basis, _and_ she's even got a new girlfriend."

Ember and Valerie exchanged prideful smiles. "That's our girl alright." Valerie boasted.

"Of course, we all had a hand in training her." Ember replied, "Were you expecting anything different?"

Valerie chuckled before turning back to Dani. "I know you just got back," Dani frowned at her statement, completely not liking where this was going, "but the council is just about to start their meeting. You wouldn't want to be late."

Dani breathed a tone that resembled a mixture of a groan and a sigh. She was exhausted, sore, and wanted to do nothing but relax for a few hours, but _NO. _She'd been back less than five minutes and had to work again. This is going to be nothing short of a test of will.

"No, I wouldn't." she muttered before she started down the hallway again, leaving Valerie and Ember behind.

* * *

**What'd you all think?**

**I'd love the read you comments. Feel free to leave in the review section if you have any.**

**See you all next time.**


	15. Chapter 11

**I don't own any of the cartoons... Once again thank you for all the views, faves, and follows.**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 11

**Miami**

It was a bright and sunny day in beautiful, Miami, Florida. The seagulls crowed in a wonderful chorus as they flew over the ocean. The surface of the water mirrored the image of the sky perfectly. Both tourists and locals alike were all spread throughout the beaches and the main city. Everyone was simply out enjoying themselves.

While the patrons filled the streets below, the vast majority of them failed to notice the lone figure soaring up in the air high above them. The Human/Ghost hybrid known as Beacon was currently conducting her daily patrol of her city. Even though hardly any criminal activity ever happens in the Florida hotspot, and her missions with the Justice League would probably take precedence, Beacon still feels obligated to conduct these patrols in case ever anything _does _happen.

As Beacon flew around the corner of a tall building, the sound of police sirens coming from the streets below traveled into her ears. Thinking quickly, she narrowed her eyes, and her holographic interphase appeared in front of her eyes. Her light blue, transparent visor zoomed in on the source of the commotion; a speeding black car that was weaving its way through traffic, narrowly missing slower cars and pedestrian's alike. Three police squad cars were in hot pursuit; the sound of their sirens bouncing off the sides of the surrounding buildings. Beacon noticed that one gunman was leaning out of one of the back windows, and firing his automatic assault rifle at the police. The squad cars swerved in and out of the path of the bullets, and one unlucky car managed to have a bullet pierce one of its tires; causing it to turn sharply, and slam head on into another unfortunate car.

Beacon deactivated her interface, took a deep breath, and descended towards the street. The Halfa quickly soared past the two remaining squad cars still in pursuit, and set her sights on the criminals' vehicle. The gunman widened his eyes when he saw the ghost-girl rapidly approaching them.

"We've got more trouble." He yelled to the driver, another masked man.

The driver turned his eyes to the rearview mirror, and sure enough, he widened his eyes as well when he saw the "trouble".

"Well, take care of it!" Was all he yelled back. His partner rolled his eyes at the obvious answer, and leaned back out the window again. After setting his sights on Beacon, the gunman squeezed the trigger.

Beacon saw what the criminal was trying to do, and immediately, the colors of her entire body disappeared, as if her figure suddenly became glass, and one could look through her and see a slightly blurred image of what was behind her. She could hear the bullets whizzing by her before the colors of her body became visible again. _They never learn, _she thought. Finally deciding that enough was enough, Beacon vanished into thin air.

The gunman saw Beacon disappear, and rapidly jerked his head around his surroundings, trying to locate the young hero. He was just about to ask his partner for his opinion, when he felt his shirt-front being tugged upwards. He felt his body become unbearably cold, and then he felt something pull at the front of his shirt, lifting him off his seat. A few seconds later, the gunman looked down, and let out a scream when he realized that he was floating about fifty feet in the air. Another scream came from beside him, and the gunman turned to shockingly see that his partner, the driver, was floating in the air as well. Beacon reappeared into view, causing the two criminals to shriek once more in surprise. While she focused on the two in her hands, down below the now-vacant black car had steadily stopped by Beacon's duplicate; who had climbed in and stepped on the breaks.

"I wouldn't move so much if I were you." The Halfa suggested. "A fall from this height wouldn't be pretty." The criminals stopped flaying the bodies about at once, and clung on to Beacon's outstretched arms, before the ghost-girl slowly made her descent.

After the criminals were back on solid ground, they fell to their knees, clutched their arms close to their chest, and shivered violently; a side effect of being intangible for the first-time. By now, a large group of bystanders stood in a circle around the two criminals, wondering in the world was going on. The bystanders all simultaneously turned to gasps as they saw who appeared in view in front of them. Beacon stood before the squirming criminals, and glared at them crossly.

"Y'know," she began, her voice was still clearly audible amongst the chatter from the bystanders, and the sounds of camera shudders going off, "maybe crime just isn't worth as much as you thought it would be." She turned her head to the crowd, and a few seconds later, four police officers emerged. All of them were panting slightly, undoubtedly from the effort it took to push their way through the horde of bystanders.

Two officers quickly drew their pistols, and aimed the criminals. While the other two worked on securing handcuffs to their wrists. After picking both masked men to the feet, one officer turned to Beacon.

"Thanks for the help, Beacon." He said with firm gratitude.

"You're very welcome." The Halfa smiled. With her job done, Beacon float back into the air, and soared off once again. However, she did wish for everyone down below to "have a good day". It was a simple, polite remark, but it had gathered much cheers and applause.

* * *

Beacon flew for another block before a low, beeping sound ringed close to her ear. She quickly realized that the source of the sound came from her tiny, black studded earrings, and activated her interface again. After taking in the large numbers in front of her eyes, the Halfa gasped loudly and she brought her flight to an abrupt halt. "8:55?!" She read out loud as she floated in place. "I'm gonna be late!"

After mentally cursing herself, Beacon pressed two fingers into the communicator in her left ear.

"Watchtower." She called hastily. "Teleport. Now!"

Immediately after her demand was made, a bright light enveloped around Beacon, and when it faded, the ghost-girl had vanished from the spot.

* * *

**Watchtower**

The space station's teleporter platform roared to life as a bright light appeared on one of the pads. The instant the light around her body had faded, Beacon hopped off the platform and landed onto the floor of the main room. A split second after, the Halfa made herself intangible, and slowly phased through the floor.

Inside the Javelin hanger, the civilian work-crew were working fast to get one of League's jets into position. Once the Javelin was in place directly in front of the hanger door, the plane's rear door opened and several Leaguers started to climb onboard. In a matter of seconds, there was only one Leaguer standing in the hanger, and her foot tapping was becoming more rabid as she grew more and more impatient.

About two days ago, Supergirl and several other Leaguers were selected for an operation that was to be conducted in a region of deep space. The details of the mission were on strictly a need to know basis. Therefore Beacon had no idea how long she would be separated from her girlfriend. Naturally, the Halfa thought it would be prudent to be there to see Kara off. Unfortunately, time was running out.

"Kara!" Supergirl heard a familiar voice call above her head. She jerked her head up to see Beacon's transparent form steadily float down from the ceiling and directly in front of her.

"Almost thought you weren't going to show." The Kryptonian stated plainly.

"Sorry," Beacon replied almost immediately, "I had to deal with a car chase before coming to the office."

Supergirl's face lightened up as she took hold of Beacon's hands. "It's fine." She forgave. "At least you got here in time to see me off."

"Did you think I wouldn't?" Beacon questioned good-humoredly.

Supergirl chuckled. "Maybe, but I'm glad I'm wrong."

"Kara!" The two girls looked to the Javelin, where a rather irritated Green Lantern was standing on the ramp. "Are we gonna have to leave without you?"

"I'll be right there." Supergirl called back, before turning back to Beacon. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Yeah, see you soon." The Halfa repeated. They leaned in at the exact same time and gave each other a peck on the lips, before wrapping each other in a firm hug. "Now go out of there and kick some butt." Beacon encouraged after they broke apart.

"You bet." Supergirl acknowledged with a nod. With that she turned on the spot and bolted towards the Javelin. "Yeah, Yeah, I'm comin'." She waved off after taking a glance at Green Lantern.

With its final passenger on-board, the Javelin closed its door and its engine began to roar into life. Beacon had retreated to a safe distance as the hanger doors opened. She watched as the jet zoomed out of the Javelin bay, and rushing to the window and watching it become smaller and smaller. Eventually, her eyes lost track of the Javelin amongst the numerous amount of tiny bright dots that shimmered in vast reaches of outer space.

* * *

With her girlfriend now out of reach, Beacon decided to put work back into the front of her mind. A quick elevator ride later, the Halfa found herself in the monitor room of the Watchtower, where the League gets constant updates on occurrences around the globe and beyond. Directly in front of her was J'onn, who was typing frantically on a keyboard at his control panel.

"Hey, J'onn." Beacon greeted as she made her way towards the Martian. "How's it going?"

"Things have been going well, thank you." J'onn replied politely.

"Good to hear," said Beacon before she turned to the many screens above them, "so how is everything, anything disastrous happening throughout the world?"

"Hm," J'onn mused without taking his eyes off the screen, "the only major occurrence was at the oil platform off the coast of Bermuda several hours ago."

"Oh," Beacon said with a slight hint of disappointment. Then curiosity struck her. "How did the mission go?"

J'onn glanced at her, and then back to the screen before speaking again. "Overall the mission was a success." He stated rather plainly, "Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, were able to protect the platform and its workers from the strange volcanic creatures." He paused for a second before adding, "They also had help from the Ultimen."

Beacon knew about the Ultimen, they were a team of young heroes that had just appeared out of nowhere six months ago. From the reports she's read, the team consisted of Wind Dragon, who could create massive gusts of wind. Juice, who could both generate and turn into electricity. There was Long Shadow, who could shift his body into a massive scale, and finally, there was Downpour and Shifter. They were the team's fraternal twins; both had pale-white skin, bright-red eyes, and pointed ears. Downpour could transform his body into any kind of volume of water, while Shifter could turn into any animal, whether real or not. Additionally, they were offered League memberships, but had turned them down on terms that they "are not ready for the privilege yet."

"Okay," Beacon's shoulder slumped slightly as she turned back towards the elevator, "well if anything happens, let me know, okay?"

The Halfa only heard J'onn grunt in acknowledgement before the elevator door swung shut.

* * *

When the door opened again, Beacon walked back into the main room and started to make her to the gym, the place she usually goes to first on a slow day like this. However before that she turned around, and raised an eyebrow at the Leaguer leaning directly next to the elevator with his arms crossed.

"Vigilante?" she addressed, "what are you up to?"

"Oh, just standing by, little Missy." The cowboy-themed hero replied with a strong southern accent. "Y'know how it is with the slow days and all."

"Ugh, tell me about it." The Halfa turned back around and started to walk away. Before she walked through the entrance to a hallway, her eye caught on to something to her right. Over by the giant window, she could make out Echo floating there about five feet off the ground. Eager to check in on her friend, Beacon changed course and made her way to the miniature robot.

"_Good Morning, Beacon._" Echo said as he continued to stare out the window. The robot had since learned to refer Beacon, or any other hero for that matter, by their code-name unless specifically told otherwise.

"Hey, Echo." She replied as her face grew with concern. "You're still here?"

"_Correct; since I have been denied access to the vast majority of the Watchtower. I have deduced that this was the next optimal solution to spend my time."_

"What, looking out a window?" Beacon asked, sounding appalled.

"_Correct," _Echo repeated, _"as well as giving the proper greeting to anyone who happens to cross my field of detection._"

"Echo…" Beacon sighed as she pinched the bright of her nose. Since the little robot's first two attempts to log into the Watchtower's system had both resulted in a station-wide blackout, he has indeed been banned from any means of access by none other than Batman. To add on top of that, the Dark Knight also confined him to the main room, and it's where he remained for the past three days. The Halfa had to admit that Echo's punishment was arguably unreasonable, but seeing her friend just going along with it made it even _sadder_. "Do you want me to talk to Batman about this?"

Echo pivoted his head towards Beacon. "_Negative_," was all he said. Since his voice was synthetic, there was no hint of fear or in fact, any other emotion, which drove the Halfa into a state of confusion. "_I have realized that I am little more than a guest here at this station. Therefore I am willing to comply with the requests of my hosts._"

"Echo!" Beacon had to struggle to keep her voice down. "You can't expect me to believe that. Now tell how you really feel." Echo just stared at her indifferently. "_Echo_, answer me."

The little robot hung his head for a moment; it's quite a feat considering his had no neck. When he looked up again, it took very little effort to relate his expression to that of an extremely saddened child. "_Very well,_" the little robot spoke again in a rather low tone. "_Though I have made attempts to suppress it, it has been rather… disheartening to be placed in confinement for the past 72 hours. _"

"Then that settles it." A stern look appeared on Beacon as she turned and started walking away. "I'm gonna give Bats a piece of my mind."

"_He is currently in a meeting with several other Leaguers in the conference room._" Echo informed, raising the volume of his voice slightly so she could hear him. "_Perhaps it would be prudent to wait until they have adjourned._"

Beacon stopped in her tracks right as she reached the entrance to a hallway. Initially, she had more than half a mind to just barge in there and chew Batman out, but now thinking more deeply into it. She realized that would just be downright stupid. With a sigh, she decided to heed Echo's advice. After all, patience is a virtue.

"Fine," she said, looking over her shoulder, "but I'll make this right, okay? So don't worry."

A smile etched onto Echo's metallic face. _Good grief, that tugged a few heart strings._ "_Thank you._"

The Halfa couldn't help but return the smile, and nodded. Then she looked forward again, and resumed her walk into the hallway.

* * *

**Conference Room**

"I can't listen to any more of this." Superman cried out as he turned off the television. After having to suffer through the "corny" speech given by Wind Dragon at the oil platform, he, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman tuned in to watch an interview with the Ulitmen's publicist and sponsor: Maxwell Lord. During the interview, the man had criticized, albeit discreetly, that the League was "aloof", and think they are above everyone else simply because they have a space station orbiting above the earth. Superman turned to his fellow heroes. "This guy is dripping more oil than that platform ever did."

"And he has the gall to take cheap shots at us." Aquaman added bitterly.

"I know Maxwell Lord." Batman addressed to the group. "All he cares about is money."

"Well, it takes money to do what we do," Wonder Woman pointed out, "and not everyone's independently wealthy."

Batman narrowed his eyes, looking skeptical. "Lord's a walking ego who will do anything for a buck and some free publicity. If he's involved in this, it isn't about helping people."

Wonder Woman took her eyes off Batman before speaking again. "I don't know about Lord, but I think these Ultimen have potential that should be encouraged, especially Long Shadow." She glanced back to looks coming from her fellow Leaguers, and quickly worked to elaborate with some optimism. "I admit they are a little… overeager, but they're really a nice bunch of kids."

Batman rubbed his chin at Wonder Woman's last statement, an idea had just sparked in his mind.

* * *

After the meeting, the four heroes made to exit the room as a group. When the metal doors slid open, they were caught slightly off-guard by the sight of Beacon, who had her arms crossed and looked unquestionably upset.

"Beacon?" Wonder Woman began with a tone of concern. "Is something wrong?"

"Sorry Diana," the Halfa replied immediately, "but I need to talk to Bruce."

Superman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman all blinked in confusion before turning their eyes to the Dark Knight, Batman on the other hand, raising a curious eyebrow at the young girl.

"Is that so? Actually, I need to have a word with you as well." Batman turned on the spot and began to walk down the hallway. "Come with me." he instructed. Beacon immediately made to follow him. As they walked away, the other three heroes simply watched, before shrugging and shaking their heads in confusion at one another.

* * *

The pair walked in silence throughout the Watchtower and eventually entered a deserted corridor. The instant their feet stopped moving, Batman turned and broke the silence.

"If it's all the same to you, I'll go first." He told Beacon firmly.

The Halfa narrowed her eyes at the man. "Fine then," she crossed her arms before finish with, "you go first."

"I have an assignment for you."

That had caught Beacon by surprise, so much so she had blinked for a second before the words finally sunk in. "Alright." She began after regaining her composure. "What do you need me to do?"

"First: what do you know about the Ultimen?" asked Batman

"Just from what's in the reports," Beacon shrugged, "They're a group of young heroes who showed up out of the blue about six months ago, and refused the offer of League membership. Why do you ask?"

"Because your assignment is to gather Intel on them," explained the Dark Knight, "anything we can use to understand more about them."

"In other words; you want me to spy on them." The Halfa narrowed her eyes again.

"Is there an issue?" Batman questioned.

"No," the Halfa shrugged again, "I just wanted to be clear."

"Good." Batman nodded. "Now what was it you wanted to discuss?""

The corridor was silent for a moment as Beacon gathered her thoughts. She did her best to remain serious on the outside, but on the inside her heart was beginning to race. After all, her friend's possible liberation was at stake.

"It's about Echo." Beacon began.

Batman narrowed his eyes. "What about him?"

Beacon breathed a heavy sigh. "He's been confined to the main room ever since he and Dani showed up three days ago." She recounted. "Since then you haven't let him go anywhere or _do_ anything. You know what he's been doing for the past few days?" Realizing that Batman had chosen to remain silent, the Halfa pressed on. "All this time he's been floating by the big window staring out into _space_. It's _really _sad."

"I am well aware of what he's been doing with his time." Batman revealed.

"Oh and _of course you _do." There was no masking the sarcasm and exasperation in Beacon's voice. Then she pointed an accusing finger directly at Batman's chest. "And I know for a _fact_ that you've been keeping him under surveillance. During his whole time on the Watchtower he's never been left alone."

Although the miniature robot had never mentioned anything to her, the Halfa soon realized, after connecting the final dot with Vigilante standing by the elevator, that there had always been a Leaguer with clear sight of Echo, even when he's just been staring out into _nothing._

"It was a necessary precaution." The Dark Knight argued.

"Oh come on, Bruce!" Beacon exclaimed. "You know as well as I do that he wouldn't do anything to hurt us. I mean after all; he's not that much different from Red Tornado."

This sparked a reaction from Batman. His eyes grew even narrower, if that were even possible. He slowly bent his body downward until his face was level with Beacon's. "Red Tornado doesn't have the ability to access _any _information in a blink of an eye."

"Okay, _fine_, point taken." Beacon said before covering her eyes with her palm. This uphill battle was immensely more difficult than she'd thought, and she's rapidly losing ground. After realizing that she has reached a point of desperation, Beacon breathed a heavy sigh, and lowered her hand.

"I asking you, no. _Begging _you really." She muttered in a low voice. "Just give him a chance. If not for him, then for me… Please."

There was a moment of silence as the two Leaguers stared at each other. Finally Batman stood upright again and turned on the spot. "You have quite a bit of work ahead of you." He said as he looked over his shoulder. Then he faced forward. "I suggest you get to it." He finished as he began walking.

Beacon kept her eyes on the back of the Dark Knight before he disappeared around a corner. The Halfa shook her head as she let out a sigh, she thought she would be able to get through to him, but sadly she was proven wrong. _Well, that could've gone better._ She mentally groaned as she exited the corridor.

* * *

Beacon had always thought very highly of Batman, he's the only founder of the Justice League who doesn't need superpowers to stand amongst the World's greatest heroes. Not to mention his demeanor can strike fear into the darkest of souls, but what irritated her the most was the fact that underneath that cape and cowl, Bruce Wayne was undoubtedly a very good man. A good man who was willing to go to great lengths to help the ones he cared about. He was even willing to give a home, a fortune, and ultimately a new life to an otherwise lost, stranger of a girl. If Bruce was capable of all those things, then why can't he even consider giving Echo a chance?

What Echo did hadn't really been a crime, just a harmless accident. Didn't Batman realize that if Echo wanted to take over the Watchtower, he could have and would have done it at the very beginning? Beacon's mind did a quick double-take. He doesn't even realize what Echo is capable of. He never even came across the idea of how much the little robot could benefit the entire League.

A subtle scoff in her head drowned out that quick ray of hope. Even if she had brought that up to Batman, he'll probably just shake it off and give her another one of his Bat-glares, because she knew, even though he would never admit it. The Dark Knight was scared.

* * *

The sound of pistons pulling open two metal doors brought Beacon back to reality. The Halfa had to blink several times before she realized that she was in the Watchtower's record room, where all the reports from the League's past missions were stored. _Oh yeah, I have a mission to complete. _

The Halfa sat down before one of the many computer monitors throughout the room, and brought up all the files the Justice League had regarding the Ultimen. After she was done reading through each member's dossiers, Beacon moved onto the various newspaper articles, magazine covers, and advertisements that featured the team of young heroes. The team certainly knew how to make an appearance in front of the camera, what with their wide, friendly smiles showing perfectly symmetrical and white teeth. Their ability to speak the right responses to questions in the televised interviews also seem to put them on good notes with the public, although admittedly Wind Dragon was really just telling the public what they wanted to hear.

Ultimately, Beacon came to the conclusion that the Ultimen are in fact, good heroes at heart, but judging from all their public appearances as well as endorsement deals, thanks to the efforts of their "generous" sponsor, Maxwell Lord. The team of heroes seemed to be letting fame go to their heads. Beacon had just finished watching Wind Dragon's speech on the oil platform, when she felt a presence approaching the door. Looking up at the door a second before it opened, the Halfa watched as Superman entered the room and walked towards her.

"Hey, Supes." Beacon greeted as she turned back to the screen.

"Hey there, Rach." The Man of Steel replied as he stopped directly next to Beacon. He took a moment to glance at the contents on computer screen before looking back at the Halfa. "I take it this is what Batman put you up to?" It sounded more like a statement.

"Yep." Beacon answered simply. She brought up another folder and began examining a dossier on Downpour, one of the Ultimen's famous, long-haired, white-skinned twins. "He wanted me to look more into these Ultimen."

"I see." Superman noted. Beacon never took her eyes off the dossier she was examining, but out of the corner of her eye, the Halfa noticed Superman was rubbing the back of his neck, and looking genuinely uncomfortable. "So, um, how are things, y'know, with Kara?"

Beacon took her eyes off the screen, and looked up at the Boy Scout. "Things are good." The ghost-girl replied plainly. She turned back to the computer screen and closed the dossier on Downpour. Afterwards she opened another folder and began to study a snippet from a newspaper describing how the young heroes rescued all the inhabitants of a burning building.

Superman blinked at Beacon's stoic response; clearly he was expecting a more elaborate explanation. "Um, okay, that's good to hear." The Man of Steel remarked as he placed his hands behind his back, and started to sway back and forth on his heels. Beacon could not escape the feeling that he wanted to say something, but just couldn't fit in the right words. Although based on what her had just asked her, Beacon could tell that they are about to divulge into a rather touchy subject. "It just that… um… I haven't talked with her in a while."

_Bingo, five points for me,_ she mentally awarded herself. "Really?" there was a hint of venom in her voice as she continued to keep her eyes off of Superman. "That seems odd, considering how you two work in the same place, and she lives with your parents."

Superman looked away and moved his hand to rub the back of his neck again. "Uh, yeah… Things are kind of…complicated between us right now."

Beacon fought to prevent herself from scoffing. "Yeah, I noticed." She wasn't intentionally trying to be harsh towards Superman. The two had formed quite a solid relationship in the past few months. It wasn't until she started dating Kara that they began to drift apart. Her bitterness towards the Man of Steel, which was caused by seeing her girlfriend getting more and more upset with him, coupled with the frustration of her recent failure to persuade Batman to lift Echo's confinement, was beginning to take its toll.

"Rach? Are you okay?" asked Superman.

Beacon turned to look at him a second time. Superman didn't look angry or hurt. Instead, he looked genuinely concerned. The Halfa felt a wave of guilt flow inside her, and had to take a breath as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Sorry," she sighed, "it's just been a rough day so far."

"Well, do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Beacon replied immediately. Turning back to the computer, she closed all the files and logged out of the system. Then she got back to her feet, and made her way to the exit, but not before she added. "I can't go into it right now, I've work to do."

"Where're you going?" Superman wanted to find out.

Beacon stopped right at the doorway, and turned to face him. "To gather more info," she answered matter-of-factly, "do some investigating. You'd know something about that, right?"

Superman nodded. The Halfa repeated the gesture before finally exiting the room.

* * *

The Ultimen were spending their down time in their headquarters on top of the city's tallest building. The majority of the team sat around a long table immersed in their own individual activities. Wind Dragon was busying himself with social media on his phone. Juice was reading his copy of the newspaper. Lastly, Downpour and Shifter were going against each other in a heavily potted card game.

"So last night 'inside celebrity' did a whole segment on Wind Dragon," Downpour began in a bitter mood, "and Mister '_swelled head_" didn't even mention the rest of us."

While Downpour was busy complaining, his twin sister's lips curled into a bright smile as she kissed the cards in her hand. She gently spread them out on the table, revealing four Aces. Her brother groaned annoyingly and threw his cards on table as he watched Shifter grab the large pot of cash in-between them.

"When do I get to be team leader?" He demanded to no one in particular.

"When you teeth sparkle like mine." Wind Dragon answered arrogantly, earning a dangerous snarl from the male twin.

"Kids, kids." Came the sound of their sponsor, Maxwell Lord. "You know you two play best in the tweens. Your faces are on the walls of every twelve-year-old in America!"

"I don't know about Shifter," Downpour announced, "but I'm sick of being a teen idol; there's more to me than just a pretty face." He turned when he heard a very audible scoff coming from his sister.

"Did I forget to give you the royalty check for the new water-spouting Downpour action figure?" The twin took the piece of paper from Max. His eyes were threatening to break out of their sockets when he read the number. "And that's just domestic." Max whispered in Downpour's ear with a smirk on his face.

The rest of the Ultimen were now all focused on their sponsor. Long Shadow, who was in the back of the room alone with his thoughts, finally spoke up. "What-what I want to know is…"

"Why can't we join the Justice League?" his teammates finished for him. Half of them even rolled their eyes while they said it. Apparently, the question has been posed numerous times.

Long Shadow was taken aback, and didn't notice Wind Dragon was behind him until the latter put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's alright, I used to think like that." He empathized.

"Used to?" repeated Long Shadow curiously. "What happened?"

Wind Dragon shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I just started wanting stuff."

A ringing sound alerted all the Ultimen to Max, who reached into his pocket, and pulled out his cellphone. He peeked at the number on the screen, and then turned to the young heroes with a reassuring smile on his face.

"Sorry," he said, gesturing his phone for emphasis, "I need to take this."

Some of Ultimen nodded to their sponsor while others merely shrugged as Max steadily made his way out of the room. Upon reaching his rather large office, he placed the phone to his ear and listen intently to the voice on the other side.

* * *

"Yes, but…" Max finally chimed in. "…just because Wind Dragon has a new power we… yes, I know, but… but…" he squeezed his eyes shut as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll check it out, ma'am; I'll check them _all _out."

Max hung up the phone and let out a slow sigh. He leaned against the window and stared down into the streets below. As he took in the tiny dots of the headlights emitting from the cars below, the invisible figure flying directly above him blinked out of existence.

* * *

Back in the main room, the invisible form of Beacon remained floating in the center of the room as Wind Dragon heard another beeping sound, this time coming from his own pocket. He pulled out his phone and read the words on the screen. The hero laughed and quickly responded to the text as he walked away from Long Shadow. One by one, the Ulitmen resumed their previous activities.

Long Shadow on the other hand, let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm bored around here, I think I'm gonna head out." He said after a while. Beacon watched him make his way around his teammates and towards the door, but before he walked out, he turned to the other Ultimen. "Any of you care to join me?"

The others made various declining sounds, and kept their attention to themselves. Their teammate let out another sigh before finally stepping through the automatic door.

A few seconds after Long Shadow was gone. Beacon's communicator beeped in her ear. She let out a slight gasp and immediately put a hand over her mouth.

"Did you say something?" Wind Dragon asked Juice.

"Mm-mm." the electric-themed hero replied with a shake of his head.

Relieved the no suspicion was raised, the Halfa slowly rose higher towards the ceiling, and phased through the inner workings until she reached the open air above the building.

Beacon pressed the device in her ear and spoke. "Beacon here, go ahead."

"_Beacon, it's Diana."_ came the voice of Wonder Woman, who sounded glad that someone had managed to respond. _"Giganta has just broken into a maximum security prison. I may require back-up._"

"I copy, Wonder Woman." The Halfa acknowledged. "Send me the coordinates, and I'll be on my way." Beacon began to head out into the night towards Wonder Woman's location. Although before she got too far, she looked down below and saw Long Shadow running from rooftop to rooftop. Before long, an idea sprouted in her head. She pressed her communicator again to make her call. "Diana, I'm going to be bringing someone with me."

* * *

The massive form of Giganta stumbled backwards on her feet. Finally, after lost her balance, the villainess fell onto the side of the prison. Wonder Woman flew closer to the dazed giantess, looking utterly unamused.

"Come on, Giganta." The Amazon began sternly. "How long are you going to be Grodd's errand-girl?"

The villainess in question glared her large eyes at Wonder Woman. "As long as he needs me." Giganta hissed.

"I took you apart before," the Amazon stated warningly, "Why go through it again?"

"Because this time," Giganta's sudden smirk sent a wave of uncertainty through Wonder Woman's body, "I've got help."

Right as she finished her words, a large man-shaped form dressed in red and blue soared straight towards Wonder Woman. "_Bizarro here to save the day!_" the strange being sang loudly as he sent his fist right at Wonder Woman's jaw. The impact sent the Amazon tumbling across the prison's courtyard, and crashing on the opposite wall.

Bizarro and Giganta both stood gloatingly over Wonder Woman, but their triumph was cut short when a bright blue beam of energy struck Bizarro directly in the side of the face. Right as Superman's faulty clone reeled around; both he and Giganta were struck this time by metal bullets coming from the guns of the two guards on top of a tower. Although the two villains were initially startled by the attacks, the bullets did absolutely no damage to their body what so ever. Giganta had quickly grown tired of this and hurriedly made her way to the guard tower. Bizarro was getting ready to join her, but instead he got to be on the receiving end of Wonder Woman's right fist, making him bounce across the ground like a stone on water.

The bullets from the guards' guns were still having no effect on Giganta's skin. The woman swung her enormous arm at the stone tower, and cleaved it in half like it was nothing. The two guards who were on the once standing structure were flung off by the giantess' impact, and were now freefalling towards the ground. Eventually, their screams of sheer terror were abruptly brought to a halt when they found themselves no longer falling, but instead, the two guards were rising higher into the air. Turning their head directly to the inside, the guards' eyes were fixed on Beacon's face.

"Hang on tight." She strongly recommended. The guards didn't need to be told twice.

Giganta had managed to finally find the wing of the prison where they were keeping Grodd. Without another delay, she made her way towards it but stopped when she noticed Long Shadow standing in her way. Normally, she could just walk over or even step on him, but Giganta was feeling cocky.

"Out of the way, _tiny_."

Long Shadow continued to look unimpressed, and concentrated his mind. Giganta's eyes grew wide as the Ultiman's body steadily began to increase dramatically. Slowly after, he was over a head taller than the giant villainess.

"You were saying?" he demanded.

"Oh, poop." Giganta muttered as she hung her head, looking utterly defeated.

Bizarro grunted as he was thrown back slightly back Wonder Woman's punch. He had to shake his head several times to stop the stars from clouding his vision. Once his eyes worked property again, he glared at the Amazon as she approached him.

"Can't you see that Giganta is just using you?" she exclaimed, throwing her arms out in exasperation.

Bizarro growled before rushing forward and slammed his fist into Wonder Woman, sending her flying towards the side of the building complex. Luckily before she crashed, Beacon blurred in directly behind the Amazon and caught her.

"Thanks." She said, directing a friendly smile towards the Halfa. Beacon gladly returned the smile and nodded before she narrowed her eyes dangerously towards Bizarro, who was slowly flying towards them.

"Me do anything for woman I love!" He affirmed, while the two Leaguers separated and made ready for another round. "Even break her boyfriend out of jail!"

"_What?_ " Beacon muttered under her breath. The Halfa was convinced she didn't hear the villain correctly.

Wonder Woman also looked somewhat confused, though for a different reason. "And what's going to happen then?" she asked.

Bizarro blinked as he thought about Wonder Woman's question. Unfortunately for the defective clone, this was all Wonder Woman and Beacon needed to both throw a punch the sent Bizarro tumbling through the air. Long Shadow stood ready and smacked the villain back down towards the earth, where he bounced off the wall of the prison and fell unconsciously to the ground. After examining his handiwork, Long Shadow shrunk back to his original size as he was approached by Wonder Woman and Beacon.

"Good job." The Amazon praised with a grin as she placed her hands on both of their shoulders. Both of her younger companions had smiles etched on their faces.

* * *

After order had been restored around the prison, Wonder Woman along with Beacon and Long Shadow found themselves sitting underneath the base of a tree that was rooted on the top of a hill overlooking the city. Long Shadow had been spending the past few minutes telling his story to the two Leaguers.

"Believe it or not, when I was born I was small, and sickly. But Lucky for me, my parents were scientists, Experimented with growth hormones. "As he went on, a smile formed on his face, "Guess the experiments were a success."

Beacon also cracked a smile at Long Shadow's statement. Wonder Woman on the other hand, turned to look at him. "Where are your parents now?"

"My mom… passed away." Long Shadow answered with a frown. "Dad's retired." Wanting to focus on something else, he turned his head and asked. "Do the two of you really think I could make it in the League?"

Wonder Woman took a good look at the Ultiman. "Yes," she answered with a smile. "yes, I do."

Beacon, who had been sitting to Wonder Woman's left, looked down and thought for a moment. Based on what she had seen so far, Long Shadow seems to be the only Ultiman who isn't in the game for recognition or monetary gain. He genuinely wants to be a hero for the sole purpose of helping people. However she realized that she still had her assignment from Batman to complete, and didn't want to say anything that might reveal that she had been secretly watching him and his teammates.

"I believe so too." She settled with a warm smile of her own.

Long Shadow was positively beaming at the two of them, but his face fell when another thought seemingly popped into his mind. "But I guess… I guess I owe it to the Ultimen to…" He was interrupted by a tune in his pocket. He stood up as he answered his cell phone. "Yeah?" he listened intently to the speaker on the other end of the line, while Beacon and Wonder Woman exchanged a look. "Okay, right away. " He hung up and looked back at the Leaguers. "I've got to go."

The two Leaguers exchanged looks again, before nodding to Long Shadow. The Ultiman took this as a farewell and began to make this trek down the hill. When he was out of ear shot, Beacon got to her feet and turned to the Amazon. "Diana, you can head back without me. I have work to do." Wonder Woman raised a curious eyebrow before giving the Halfa a slightly nod. Beacon floated off the ground and flew towards the city. Shortly after, the Amazon stood up and called for teleportation back to the Watchtower.

* * *

As Beacon flew through the city, she was able locate to Long Shadow in a matter of minutes. Even if the Halfa hadn't managed to find him, she was still fairly certain where he was heading. Sure enough, shortly after she found Long Shadow walking towards the skyscraper that housed the headquarters of the Ultimen. Beacon turned herself invisible, and made her descent. She followed Long Shadow through the lobby, and into an elevator.

A minute or so later, the doors opened and Beacon silently walked out into a room that resembled a medical facility. Alongside a wall were the other Ultimen in their undergarments. They were all lying on medical beds in a row with medical patches taped to their chests.

"There you are." Wind Dragon said to his teammate.

"Glad you could join us." Shifter added.

Long Shadow opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when a door on the opposite of the room opened and out walked Maxwell Lord.

"Ah, good." The sponsor grinned and clapped his hands together. "Now we can finally get this show on the road. Long Shadow, go ahead and make yourself comfortable." Max gestured to the vacant bed next to Wind Dragon. Long Shadow looked curiously between the bed and Max for a moment. Then he quickly shed his clothing and plopped down on the bed. After the patches were taped onto his chest, Max turned to make his way out of the room. Before he left, he turned back to the team. "Be right back, kids." He informed them. "Don't go anywhere." He finished by pointing a finger pistol at them and clicking his tongue. No one laughed at Max's poor attempt at a joke the door closed behind them.

Beacon followed closely behind the Max as they entered the room directly next to the previous one. This room was vastly smaller and darker and there were several computer screens in front of a control panel. Opposite the screens was a one-way window that anyone to see the Ultimen, but not be seen in return.

There already a man standing by the control panel. He turned when Max, and unbeknownst to either of them, Beacon entered. The man looked middle-aged, had dark-blond hair, thick rimmed glasses, and a beard and mustache. Beacon nearly gasped out loud at the sight of him.

_Professor Hamilton? _Her realization exploded in her mind, making her eyes bulge in surprise. _What's he doing here?!_ Beacon gently floated up into the air, and made her way to the upper corner of the small room. This way no one and nothing could accidentally bump into her invisible, yet still tangible form.

As Max leaned against the window and watched unsuspecting Ultimen, the Halfa noticed his charismatic expression was now gone. Instead it was replaced with dread. She then heard the computer roar into life and saw Professor Hamilton tying away on the keyboard.

"How long will the results take to come in, Professor?" Max asked without looking at him.

"Hard to tell," Hamilton answered vaguely. "Roughly… a little under an hour."

* * *

As the hour came and went, over in the other room the Ultimen was starting to lose their patience. Being the celebrities that they are, they could find much better things to do than just lying on a lumpy mattress in their underclothes.

"How long are they gonna keep us here like this?" demanded Shifter.

"What's the hurry, Sis?" Downpour smirked. "Need to go home and wax your mustache?" Juice laughed, his voice had somewhat of an electrical pitch to it. Shifter turned her head sharply and glared dangerously at the both of them.

"Well I, for one, have a date." Wind Dragon bragged as he jerked a thumb at himself. "And I gotta get her home by ten."

Back in the next room, the results were finally in. Professor Hamilton joined Max by the window. Beacon was rooted to her corner, anxiously waiting for the Professor to speak. "It's worse than we thought." Hamilton announced as he led Max to the control panel. The screens above showed various images of the Ultimen's x-rays, blood cells, and brain scans. After taking in the images, Hamilton turned and frowned Max. "The Ultimen's cellular matrix isn't holding. Wind Dragon in particular is showing massive cellular atrophy, but they are all on the early stages of failure."

Beacon's mouth dropped open as she took in what Hamiltion had just said. So all this time, the Ultimen had been slowly dying, but how? Are they infected with some disease? Or is it that their powers are affecting their bodies?

As if travelling along the same line as the Halfa, Max asked grimly, "How long?"

Hamilton's frown deepened even more. "A few months, a few days… The progression will be painful." Beacon lowered herself slightly and gazed out the window at the Ultimen. They looked so full of life, and yet their bodies were breaking down from the inside out. What a horrible way to die. Beacon jerked to her head to the opening in the other side of the room. It was dark so she could hardly see anything, but she knew someone else was coming. She slowly floated up into the air again and back to her original spot as Professor Hamilton spoke again. "We should do everything we can to help them."

"That's not our priority."

Professor Hamilton and Max turned to the darkened doorway at the sound of a person's voice. Beacon watched intently as the two men were approached by a rather large, African-American woman wearing a business suit. Judging from the completely no-nonsense expression on her face, Beacon realized that whoever this woman was, she most likely wasn't about to improve upon the situation.

"But Mrs. Waller," Max started to object, "I really think that we-"

"Since when did your opinion count, Lord?" Waller cut him off. Even though the woman was about a foot shorter than Max, she was twice as intimidating. In fact, Max looked down in shame after he was interrupted. Mrs. Waller turned to Professor Hamilton as she spoke again. "How fast can you get the second team up and running?"

_Second team? _Beacon pondered _Are there more Ultimen? Do they have list of candidates or something? _The Halfa shook her head to clear her thoughts. She needed to be focused on the task at hand.

"In the earliest?" Hamilton began. "Maybe about five days."

"Good," Mrs. Waller replied indifferently, "do what you have to." With that said, the woman turned to leave the way she entered, but she was stopped when Hamilton spoke to her.

"And what about the Ultimen?"

Mrs. Waller didn't even lose her stride. "They're expandable." Then just like that, she was gone.

For the second time, Beacon's eyes widened and her jaw dropped even lower at what she had just heard. Professor Hamilton and Max turned to each other, both looking equally depressed.

"What should I tell them?" asked Max.

"Tell them there's nothing to worry about," Hamilton replied dimly, "But I want to keep them overnight to run some more tests."

Max nodded and walked towards the door that connected this room from the one that the Ultimen were in. He took a deep breath, and then put on a rather convincing smile before exiting. Professor Hamilton took his glasses off, and rubbed his eyes before replacing them. Following this, he turned back to the control panel and logged out of the system before shutting the computers down. With the room now dark again, the Professor let out a deep sigh, and exited the room via another exit.

* * *

Beacon floated down and landed in front of the one-way window. She looked through, still invisible, to see the Ultimen putting their clothes back on. They looked slightly frustrated, made sense considering that they were basically grounded for the night. However when the Halfa saw Long Shadow, she didn't see just frustration. She also saw deep concentration, and perhaps… mortification. _Does he know? _She couldn't make sure as the Ultimen and Max filed out of the room.

With the coast now clear, Beacon activated her holographic interface, and scanned her immediate area. She wanted to know if there were any means of surveillance in place. When her scans came back as negative, her body reappeared as she made her way to the control panel. She reactivated the computers and, with her interface still active, successfully logged on without a hitch.

Even with her interface helping her, Beacon was overwhelmed by what she had discovered. After browsing through the files, she found out that all of the Ultimen were actually test-tube babies, artificial life forms. Thinking back, the Halfa realized all the clues were staring at her right in the face. The Ultimen's cellular structures had been unstable, and how they were beginning to break down. This also explained how they all seemingly appeared out of nowhere and took the world by storm.

_But what about this second team that Waller woman was talking about?_ Beacon typed away on the keyboard, and gasped at what she saw. On the screen before her was an image of the five Ultimen, each floating in individual liquid-filled tubes. The second team hadn't been different candidates at _all_. Instead they were…

"…_clones_." Beacon breathed aloud. She took her eyes of the screen as a horrible thought raced through her brain. When the Ultimen's bodies break down completely, they will be replaced with these other Ultimen floating in the tubes, but what would happen if _their _cellular structures are unstable? Are they going to be condemned to the same fate? To be tossed out like garbage?

_No! _She yelled in her mind as she gazed up again. She would not allow that to happen. She _will _find a way to help the Ultimen, but where were they? She brought up the footage from security camera's thought out the building. She had lost count of how many cameras she passed before finally finding the Ultimen.

The footage currently showed the five heroes split off into two couches. Their attention was focused on the television directly in from of them. Beacon felt slightly relieved to find that they were still okay.

However before she decided make her way to the Ultimen, there was still the subject of Professor Hamilton. What role did he fit into all this? If he was involved here, then was he somehow involved with the incident around Kara's clone a few months ago? She needed to find the answer. Typing on the keyboard again, she pulled up all files that included the Professor's name. Most had been generic medical reports, which the Halfa dismissed without a second thought.

Finally there was one folder that caught attention. _Project Cadmus?_ She thought curiously. She quickly moved to opened it, but instead she found herself staring into a familiar password strip. Narrowing her eyes, the Halfa followed her interface's instructions and typed on a few keys. Sadly, she was still denied access.

"Triple encrypted…" She grumbled under her breath before letting out a sigh. "If only Echo were here."

Actually, if the little robot _was _in fact here, he would have been able to successfully gain access to nearly _all_ of the files in a matter of maybe five to seven minutes, versus the half an hour it had been taking her. After spending another five minutes, Beacon had managed to break the folder's security. However, she didn't expect the sheer number that it contained. _Aw great. Do I have time to go through them all? _She wondered. _If anyone comes I can always sense them._

Right as she opened the first Cadmus file, her eyes shifted when she noticed the footage of the Ultimen was replaced by static.

"What the-?" she blurted out as she franticly typed in an attempt to relocate them. Luckly she managed to pull up another camera showing Wind Dragon slamming two guards against the wall with his powers. No, no, no! They must be looking for answers too, but what if they get recaptured, Or worse?

* * *

Reprioritizing, Beacon turned invisible again and zoomed out of the room, but not before making sure to leave a duplicate behind to shut down the computers.

The Ultimen, with Long Shadow in front, rounded a corner and bolted down the long stretch of hallway.

"What exactly are we looking for?" asked Shifter in the rear.

"No idea," Long Shadow admitted, "but I think we will know when we see it."

As the team was approaching the end of the hallway, two more guards made an appearance. Wind Dragon stretched out his arm and prepared to blast them with a burst of air, but right as the guards turned to see the Ultimen running towards them, their bodies suddenly tensed up and there were expressions of shock in both of the guards' faces. The Ultimen skidded to a halt as the two guards toppled over, completely unconscious.

"What just-?" He stopped midsentence when Beacon appeared right in front of them. The Halfa's sudden appearance caused quite a stir, particularly with Shifter, who gasped and slightly jumped back.

"Beacon?" Long Shadow began, sounding confused. "What are you doing here?"

The Halfa took a good look at the Ultimen before she said. "Come with me." She turned to her left and started down the perpendicular hallway. The Ultimen looked amongst each other, before Long Shadow shrugged and quickly ran after the Halfa. Shortly the rest of the team followed suit.

Eventually, they found themselves in sort of laboratory, with a row of cages along one side of the wall. As the heroes walked past them, Shifter suddenly gasped when she nearly got her head devoured by a rabid, mutated canine.

"What is that?!" she yelled, clutching onto her chest.

"Uh, guys…" The Ultimen turned to see Long Shadow and Beacon standing in the back of the room. They approached the two and gazed in shock when they saw themselves floating inside five large tubes. Shifter buried her face on her brother's chest. Her twin held her in his arms as she wept.

"Clones?" Wind Dragon muttered under his breath. "What's the meaning of this?"

Beacon turned to see the Ultimen staring expectantly at her. However before she could answer, they heard a loud wailing sound ring out throughout the halls. "They must've found the unconscious guards." Beacon deduced to the others. "We need to leave, _now._"

The Ultimen exchanged looks with one another before nodding to the Halfa.

* * *

The six heroes successfully managed to exit the building without attracting any further attention. They scaled from building to building for a few blocks before finally stopping on a flat roof. Beacon found herself being approached by Long Shadow.

"Do you know why we found our clones back there?" the long-haired hero asked. The other Ultimen heard his question and decided to join in. Beacon gazed into each of their eyes. They were all filled devastation, confusion, and indignation.

"I know you guys aren't going to like hearing this," Beacon began dimly, "but all of you are artificial beings, grown in a lab." As she expected, the others looked shocked, even offended, at the news.

"B-but that _can't_ be true." Long Shadow exclaimed. "I have all my memories from when I was a kid. I remember how much my parents loved me… I was with my mother when she died!"

"They must've used implanted memories." Wind Dragon guessed as he tucked his chin in his fingers.

"But I spent Thanksgiving with my father." Long Shadow argued.

"...Actors..."

Long Shadow raised his eyebrows for a moment before his eyes fell to the ground. Beacon's heart sank as she took in the devastation in front of her. A few hours ago, all of them were living the high life of a hero. Now they all feel as if they've violated and have hit rock bottom.

"What about the clones?" asked Downpour.

Beacon met the male twin's eyes. Remembering what Mrs. Waller said about the _second _team. "They're your replacements."

"Replacements?" Shifter echoed. "For what?"

"For when you," The Halfa's eyes fell as she thought hard about her next words. Telling them would make the matter worse, but not knowing would be equally as bad. "For when you die."

Shifter gasped and fresh tears sprung from her eyes. She flung herself at her brother again as she cried.

"But why? Why do they need the clones?" Long Shadow asked.

"All I found out was something called 'Project Cadmus'." Beacon answered. "Beyond that I don't know. I didn't have time to find out more."

"Then maybe," Wind Dragon spoke again, making the others turn to him, "we should talk with a person from the inside."

* * *

Maxwell Lord sulked as he strolled through the parking structure. About ten minutes ago he was given the _honor _of tracking down the runaway Ultimen. Even though he initially wanted to be involved with the Ultimen for personal gain, as time passed he had genuinely grown to care for the team. Now, given their condition, they will most likely be executed or be left to suffer a horribly painful death. His thoughts were brought to a halt when the stack of papers he was holding blew out of his hands. After watching the pieces of paper scatter throughout the parking structure, he turned around to see a small tornado speed towards him. Max yelled out as the gust lifted him off his feet and quite carried him out of the parking structure. When the wind had stopped, Max felt himself fall onto firm ground. He slowly opened his eyes, and stared in shock as he took in all of the Ultimen's livid expressions.

"Alright, Max." Wind Dragon began in a dangerous tone. "_spill._"

"I-I was only trying to protect you from the people who don't have your best interests at heart." He rapidly said as he got back to his feet. "I've always been on your side, and I promise I won't rest until…"

"Spare us the performance!" barked Wind Dragon, making Max reel back in fright. "Now tell us. What is the meaning of all this?!"

After letting out a sigh, Max began to talk. "You were designed to be the ultimate superheroes, but we realized that your bodies are unstable, hence the clones. Once they're complete, they'll think they're you; they'll be you, and no one will be the wiser."

"But why?" asked Long Shadow.

"And how long have we…" Wind Dragon added but stopped half way.

Max let out another sigh. "You're… you're just a little over a year old." The Ultimen's eyes fell wide open in shock as he went on. "The purpose of the Cadmus Project was to create a popular group of Superheroes who were completely loyal to the government; unlike those loose cannons in the Justice League."

Silence plagued between all of them for a few seconds, before Shifter spoke in a contused tone. "How could you do this to us?"

"Me?" Max glanced at her before letting out a sour chuckle. "This is so big, even my superiors are small fish." He face fell in terror when he noticed the Ultimen stalking towards him, and on instinct he started to back away as well. "But I-I was just…"

"_What?_ " Wind Dragon questioned as they continued to stalk closer. "Following orders?"

"Stop! That's enough."

Everyone stopped when Beacon appeared into sight right in-between Max and the Ultimen. Before the Max was brought to the rooftop, Long Shadow brought the idea that she shouldn't be seen so Max would unknowingly tell more than he might've meant to. The Halfa complied and had since been invisible a few feet above all of them, watching the scene play out. When the Ultimen were driving Max dangerously close to the edge, she decided to step in.

"Get out of the way!" Wind Dragon demanded.

"You already have your answer." Beacon reasoned. "You don't need him anymore."

"But that still leaves you." Downpour said from out of nowhere.

"What?"

"How was it that you just _happen _to show up, and knew about _this_?" Wind Dragon elaborated.

Beacon's feature grimly fell as she looked at the other heroes. "I was assigned to keep tabs on you, and give any information I find to the…"

"So you admit you were spying on us." Downpour interrupted furiously later.

Beacon was at a loss for words, because he hit the nail right on the head. The Halfa met Long Shadow's eyes for brief moment, enough to see the hurt behind them. "Look," she began, "let me call the League and I promise we'll do everything we can to help you."

"Why should we believe _anything _you say?" asked Shifter. Downpour and Juice nodded in agreement.

"Because that's what we do," the Halfa exclaimed with a little exasperation. "We help people, no matter whom."

Most of the Ultimen looked completely unconvinced. "Well I for one think you've helped quite enough." Wind Dragon walked forward slightly and an immense gust of wind emitted from his body, Beacon put her hands in front of her face in an attempt to block the gust as her hair whipped violently, and slowly felt herself skidding on her feet. The Halfa turned intangible to avoid being swept away, but she never noticed that Max was being affected by the wind as well. It was only hearing his scream that Beacon spun around to see that he had toppled over the edge.

"NO!" Without a hesitation, Beacon leapt off of the roof and sped towards the falling man. With both of them gone, Long Shadow stormed up to Wind Dragon, and turned him by pulling on his shoulder.

"You didn't need to do that?" Long Shadow scolded. There was no doubt he was angry at Max, but he would've never resulted to throwing him off a building.

Wind Dragon glared at his teammate before replying. "She'll catch him. Besides we have bigger fish to fry." With that said he raised his arms, and created a wide tornado underneath their feet to lift them away.

* * *

Max was about twenty feet away from the ground when Beacon finally managed to catch him. The Halfa held him by his armpits as she slowly their descent, eventually landing safely in an alley.

"Y-you have to stop them." Max pleaded, the effects of shock were still in his system. "They'll ruin everything."

Beacon glared daggers at the man. Even after all he put the Ultimen through; he only cares about himself and "Project Cadmus". However he did get one thing right: they do need to be stopped before they can hurt anyone else. "I'll handle it," she assured, "but _not _for you." No, after this is over, she was going to take them as far away this as possible. She turned on the spot, and rapidly took off into the air, leaving Max to sulk in shame.

* * *

Beacon found herself approaching fast towards the building. Following close behind her were Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, and Aquaman. Batman was piloting a helicopter pack as Aquaman simply held onto one side. Beacon called the Watchtower to tell them that the Ultimen were about to go on a rampage, and that she would need backup. When the four heroes arrived, the Halfa gave them a brief summary of the situation. She told them that the Ultimen's genetic structures were breaking down and it has made them unstable. If they weren't stopped at lot of people could get hurt.

As the building loomed closer, the heroes saw jets of air, surges of electricity, and waves of water shoot out the windows. Over to the side, they could see a now-giant Long Shadow climbing down the building with one hand, clutched in the other were bundles of people. Beacon looked more closely and saw that there were also people clutching onto his hair or shoulders.

"Need a hand?" She heard Wonder Woman call out. Long Shadow paused in his climb as she, Superman, and Beacon, along with three duplicates, help carry some of the people to safety. When all of the innocent civilians were out of immediate danger, Long Shadow shrunk back down to his normal size, and rushed back into the building.

* * *

The other Ultimen regrouped with each other, hopelessness was etched onto each of their faces. Their clones are nowhere to be found, and they are still going to die.

"What's the point of all this?" Shifter questioned as she skid down the wall and onto the floor. "We'll never find Cadmus, or a cure; it's hopeless."

Wind Dragon knelt down right in front of her, his face contorted with rage. "Then _what?_ We just die and let them replace us?" He brought his face uncomfortably close to the female twin. "No one ever knows we were here, that we mattered?!" Wind Dragon practically screamed his last few words. Shifter turned away; her lower lip trembled as tears fell down her face.

"I say we just bring the whole place down," suggested a grim Downpour, "right on top of us."

"Don't give up hope yet, Downpour." The Ultimen turned to see Long Shadow. "We've got friends," He gestured to the Leaguers behind him, "in high places."

Shifter groaned in annoyance. "You idiot; do you really think that they help can us?"

"And after what _she _did," Downpour added as he jerk an accusatory finger at Beacon, "do you really think we're going to believe anything they say?!"

Beacon blinked at the male twin's hurtful words before speaking. "Look, I'm sorry, but we can still…"

She was cut off when Wonder Woman put an arm in front of her, and after giving the Halfa a reassuring nod, the Amazon stepped forward and took over. "Whatever's going on, we'll do everything in our power to…"

"Yes, power; that's what it always comes down to, doesn't it?" Wind Dragon interrupted as he approached her. "That's only way we'll be remembered." Jets of wind circled around his body, blowing violently in every direction. Wonder Woman, the other Leaguers, and Long Shadow retreated by a few steps as Wind Dragon turned to his teammates. "If we're the ones who take down the Justice League, the world will never forget us!"

The other Ultimen smirked and walked to back Wind Dragon up. Beacon widened her eyes as the Ultimen prepared themselves for a fight. _They've really gone off the deep end…_

As if mirroring her thoughts, Batman spoke up. "Listen to yourself, you're not making any sense! You're getting sicker."

"Translation: they're afraid to face us." Wind Dragon said smugly.

"No! Stop this!" Long Shadow stepped between the Ulitmen and the League.

Wind Dragon narrowed his eyes dangerously. "As a man said, you're either with us or against us."

Long Shadow turned his head to look at the Leaguers. As he did so, Beacon saw Juice extend his arm, pointing his palm directly at him. She just started to move right as the bolt of lightning flew towards Long Shadow.

"Look out!" the Halfa yelled as she shoved Long Shadow away. The bolt of lightning struck her right in the chest. With a shout of pain, Beacon crashed to the floor, unconscious.

"No!" Long Shadow yelled. Then he turned to see Downpour turn into a tidal wave and slam into Aquaman. Juice flew forward and aimed straight for Batman. Wind Dragon blew a pair of tornadoes at Superman. Lastly, Long Shadow was knocked off his feet by Shifter; who had transformed into a rhino, and crashed through the wall.

Long Shadow flew into the wall with a sickening thud. He fell onto the floor and just laid there as pain coursed through his entire body. He slowly tilted his head and saw Shifter, who was still a rhino approach him.

"Shifter, please." Long Shadow pleaded as he got back to his feet. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

"You threw you lot in with _them_." Shifter growled, completely ignoring his pleas. "You're nothing but a traitor!"

She transformed into a massive, white-skinned T-rex, and charged at Long Shadow again. The size-changing hero dove out of the way and worked to get as much distance from her as possible. He turned to see Shifter crash head first into the wall, but fail to take her tail into account. Long Shadow was smacked across the room and he bounced another wall and crashed to the floor.

He got up quickly and saw Shifter charge towards him again with teeth poised to devour him. Long Shadow narrowed his eyes, and realized his hand had been forced. Concentrating hard, he grew in size; not to his maximum height, but large enough to tower over even Shifter's transformation. Shifter slammed right into him, but he was able to brace himself against the impact. After skidding for a couple of feet, Long Shadow lifted Shifter off the ground, and heaved her across the room with all of his strength.

* * *

The female twin crashed through the wall, but luckily any further damage was mitigated as the next room was filled to the ceiling with water. As Shifter changed back to her normal self, the water level in the room began to decrease. When she landed unconscious on the floor, Downpour reappeared and gazed worryingly at his sister.

When the male twin saw Long Shadow stepping through the hole in the wall, he glared heated daggers at him. "Nobody does that to my sister! Do you hear me! _NOBODY!_ " With a furiously roar, Downpour unleashed two jets of high-pressure water at Long Shadow. To his luck however, Aquaman jumped in front of him and took the full blunt of Downpour's attack. Downpour got to his feet, smirking in appreciation of his victory, but his eyes shot open when he saw that both Aquaman and Long Shadow emerged completely unharmed.

"King of the Seas, remember?" Aquaman asked with a raised eyebrow.

With a viscous yell, Downpour brought one fist to Aquaman's chest, followed immediately by another. The King of Atlantis didn't even flinch and seemed quite literally bored. He swung at Downpour with a quick backhand, and it was light's out for the male twin before he'd even hit the ground. Aquaman bent over and slung Downpour over his shoulder, while Long Shadow bridal carried the still unconscious Shifter.

Together, the two heroes went to go regroup with the others.

* * *

Beacon groaned slightly as her eyes began to flutter open. She looked up to see Wonder Woman, who stayed back to tend to her, gazed down at her with a relieved expression.

"How are you feeling?" began Diana.

The Halfa slowly sat back up, and winced sharply as she clutched the spot where she was struck. "I feel like I got hit with a hammer," She replied weakly, "and my body still feels numb, but I'll live." Wonder Woman smiled as put Beacon's arm over her shoulder and steadily pulled her back up. They were on their feet right as Aquaman, Long Shadow, and Batman, who easily defeated Juice, regrouped with them.

A sudden boom rushed from a room to their right, and upon reaching the door, they found Superman fighting to push himself against Wind Dragon's tornado. The winds were so powerful they were enough to halt the Man of Steel's flight.

"You don't want to do this." His voice carried through the wind.

"It's all I know!" Wind Dragon barked. "It's all I was created to do."

"You're confuse, Dragon. The cellular degeneration…"

"NO MORE WORDS!" The deranged Ultiman roared at the top of his lungs. "I'll suck the wind right out of you!"

Superman began to feel himself being pulled towards Wind Dragon, but also, he started to have difficulty breathing. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get oxygen into his lungs. Panicking, the Kryptonian clutched onto his throat as the air continued to be sucked out of his lungs. Just before he blacked out, Superman saw the wind being blocked by Long Shadow.

"Look what you're doing." He demanded from Wind Dragon. "_Look!_ "

Wind Dragon widened his eyes, and saw Superman writhing on the ground as he struggled to breathe. Then the Ultiman turned and looked at all the carnage he'd caused.

"Is this what you wanted to be remembered for?" Long Shadow continued as he gestured to Superman. "He was you hero."

Wind Dragon looked at Superman for another second. Then with a roar, he blasted a pair of tornadoes right by Long Shadow's ear. He fell on his knees as tears streamed out of his eyes. "He was my hero," he cried, "and a hero is all I ever wanted to be." Long Shadow knelt before his distraught friend as the heroes of the Justice League slowly encircled them.

* * *

The authorities soon arrived to arrest the Ultimen. They were quickly handcuffed and escorted out of the building by a squad of armed officers. A rather large crowd of reporters had gathered around at the steps in front of the building, and upon seeing the Ultimen they started taking photo, and murmuring amongst each other. The shamed young just continued to look forward, and kept walking.

Behind the crowd, Beacon, who had completely recovered from Juice's attack, huddled with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Long Shadow as they discussed everything the two younger heroes knew.

"So everything points to this 'Project Cadmus'." Superman summarized. "But that's all you two know?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Beacon answered grimly. "I couldn't find out in time."

"And everything else is an implanted memory." Long Shadow added.

"How much time," Wonder Woman began, "do you have left?"

Long Shadow's face fell even more as he replied. "Who knows?"

Beacon gave him a sympathetic look as she put a hand on Long Shadow's shoulder. "Don't worry, we _will _find a way to…" She turned her head to see several armored trucks pull up from around a corner and stop right in front of them. Everyone, the League, the Ultimen, as well as the police and press look on in confusion.

The heavy trucks slowed to a halt; a loud hiss could be heard as the driver applied the air-brakes. Then soldiers fully armed with heavy weapons began to pile out and hastily moved to form a perimeter around the street. After the soldiers were in position, Mrs. Waller, closely followed by Max, approached the Justice Leaguers.

"We'll take it from here." She announced with authority. "The Ultimen belong to us."

"Belong?" echoed Wonder Woman dangerously as she crossed her arms.

"A poor choice of words," Max chimed in, "we'll see to it that their last days are comfortable." He turned to the Ultimen. "We _will _take care of you; you have my word, for whatever it's worth."

The Ultimen looked amongst each other for a moment. Then Wind Dragon spoke up. "Alright, Max." The soldiers surround the Ultimen, and guided them into the back of a truck. Wind Dragon was the last one in line to climb in, but he stopped and turned to Max. "I'm sorry for the…"

"That's okay." Max dismissed with a smile. "You didn't mean it." Wind Dragon remained silent and climbed onto the truck.

Mrs. Waller smirked as she watched them go, and then turned to look at Long Shadow as more soldiers approach to take him. Before they could, Wonder Woman walked right in front of him.

"No." she said firmly.

"You need to step back." Mrs. Waller ordered as she took a step forward, but immediately found herself blocked by Batman.

"Not going to happen." He proclaimed. "Long Shadow's with us."

Mrs. Waller snarled at the Dark Knight, before telling the soldiers, "Safeties."

Several soldiers propped their weapons up and aimed them right at Wonder Woman and Long Shadow. However, their line of sight was blocked by Superman, Aquaman, and Beacon.

Batman expressed the slightest of smirks as he leaned closer to Mrs. Waller. "Mine are bigger than yours." The two then engaged in a staring contest, and it was Waller that caved.

"…Stand down." She instructed. The soldiers complied. "He's free to go with you." Mrs. Waller continued with a smirk of her own. "For however long he's got." Long Shadow hung his head at the comment.

"Who are you people?" Batman demanded.

"That's a national security matter," Waller answered vaguely, Then she walked right up to Batman, "and if I were you, I wouldn't probe the situation too closely…_rich boy_."

Batman's eyes grew wide as he understood her words. At the sight, Mrs. Waller's smirk grew even larger. Beacon clenched her fists and glared daggers at Mrs. Waller as her anger spiked. She had never met the woman personally, but the Halfa could just feel her anger and hatred boil inside her at the sight of this woman. This Waller woman never cared about the Ultimen and probably was going to leave them to die. Then she's just going to replace them with clones and throw out the originals like they were nothing. Now she's going as far as threatening her friends. She'd had enough of this.

* * *

The Halfa kept her glare fixed on Mrs. Waller as she got up right in her face. Everyone eyed her in surprise; even Batman turned to look at her as she stood next to him.

"And if _I were you_, I'd be careful about who I threaten, _Mrs. Waller._"

Now it was Mrs. Waller's turn to widen her eyes. Beacon felt a pang of satisfaction, but didn't let it show. She just stared her down and watched her tried to deduce how she found out her identity. Batman's slight smirk made a reappearance as he turned back to Mrs. Waller.

"Like I said: mine are bigger than yours."

Narrowing her eyes in anger, Mrs. Waller turned away and headed back to her car. The soldiers climbed back into their trucks, and they all drove off. When the vehicles disappeared around the corner, Batman turned to Beacon, and they exchanged nods.

* * *

**Watchtower**

In a flash of light, the Justice Leaguers, along their new teammate, Long Shadow appeared on the station's teleporter pad. The sizing-changing hero widen his eyes as he looked at the station, as well as all the heroes scattered around the main room. The five Leaguers turned around to face Long Shadow with confident smiles on all of their faces.

"Welcome to the Justice League." Wonder Woman said.

Long Shadow beamed at all of them. Beacon couldn't help but brighten her smile at the sight. _At least one thing went right from this. _She thought positively. Then to everyone's surprise and confusion, Long Shadow frowned and looked at the floor.

"What's the matter?" asked Wonder Woman in a worried tone. "It is not what you want?"

"N-no." Long Shadow quickly replied. "It just doesn't feel right, you know? I'm here, and the rest of the Ultimen are probably being carted off to sit a cell somewhere."

Beacon looked at him with an expression of concern. He was still going to die a painful death and the same goes for the other Ultimen. Though Long Shadow had reached his dream of being a member of the League, It would be injustice if he never got to live it.

Right then, an idea popped into Beacon's head; it may be bold, but it just might work.

"Don't worry." She assured Long Shadow as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get you and the others the treatment you need. I just need to go make a call." Everyone looked at the Halfa with raised eyebrows, but before they could ask what she mean, Beacon hopped off the platform and ran out of the main room.

* * *

Beacon opened her locker and took out her badge; a black piece of folded leather with a gold emblem in front. She flipped it open and tapped the screen. The screen lit up to show her a display of various folders. The Halfa's eyes moved throughout out the display until she found the one labeled "contacts". She opened the folder and scrolled through the names, though there weren't many, until she found the one she was looking for.

Beacon pressed call, and a few seconds later, she smiled as stared into a set of bright-blue eyes.

"Hey, Rach," said a cheerful Danielle Fenton, "Good to see to you. How's it goin'?"

"I'm good, Dani," the other Halfa replied rather quickly, "but, listen, I need your help."

"What's up?"

Beacon took a full fifteen minutes to explain everything that had occurred today. When she was finished, Dani looked at her with a firm expression. "Okay," she said, "I know what to do, just let me handle it."

Beacon smiled again. "Thanks Dani. I knew I could count on you."

Dani grinned confidently and nodded. The two Halfas said their goodbyes, and disconnected their call. A few seconds later, Beacon felt something fast approaching, not from behind her, but coming from outside. She quickly ran to the closet window just in time to see a Javelin zoom passed by. An enormous wave of excitement flowed through her entire being as she stepped away from the window, and bolted to the shuttle bay.

* * *

Beacon reached the hanger right as the Javelin's ramp began to descend. She watched as several Leaguers piled out of the ship, giving her simple greetings as they walked by. Beacon absent-mindedly returned the greetings but never took her eyes off the Javelin. The next thing she saw was a red blur, and then felt a pair of arms crushing her sore body.

Beacon's agonized scream instantly made Kara pull her arms away. "Oh my gosh! Sorry!" She watched as Beacon massaged her crushed ribs. "What happened?"

After regaining her composure, Beacon pulled Kara aside and explained everything she knew about Cadmus. Kara had been astonished, and somewhat horrified to find out that there was another incident involving clones. Although when the Halfa brought up Professor Hamilton, Kara looked confused.

"But if he was there? Then doesn't that mean he was somehow connected to the incident with _my _clone?"

Beacon looked firmly at Kara. They hadn't been able to find a trace of the clone since Nuvu-gen was destroyed by a strange explosion. They had asked the Professor if whoever created her had gotten hold of a DNA sample through his lab. He denied any involvement, but now having seen him with the Ultimen, Beacon was beginning to doubt his lack-of-involvement claim.

"To be honest with you, Kara, I'm not really sure." She admitted with a sigh. The two girls turned and looked out the window into the void of space. "Although, I have a feeling that something big is about to go down."

* * *

Several days have passed since the incident, and now all the Ultimen had been confined to a metal room in an unknown Cadmus facility. Needless to say, their condition has continued to deteriorate. In addition to some very, _very_, depressive thoughts about their untimely demise, each member of the team would from time to time find themselves suffering from head-splitting migraines that would last hours on end. The armed men standing guard by the door could not be more thankful to know that the room had been soundproof. Otherwise they'd go insane from the Ultimen's nonstop shouts of pain.

Inside the room, each Ultimen had been stripped of any uniform, and instead was wearing matching brown jumpsuits. They all sat on different parts of the room; Shifter was huddled in a corner with her brother as she wept in his arms. The other Ultimen just remained silent, moping in their despair.

The silence was broken when a bright blue light flashed in the room. All of the Ultimen yelled in surprise and shield their eyes. When they could see again, all of them widened their eyes to see an oval-shaped construct in the middle of the room.

"W-what… the heck is that?" demanded Downpour.

Wind Dragon slowly stepped closer to the mysterious thing. He moved close enough the see tiny dots shimmer in the distance. "I think… I think it's a portal." He deduced as he turned back to the other Ultimen.

"A portal?" repeated Juice. "A portal to…" He stopped midsentence as Wind Dragon saw his electrically-enhanced blue eyes widen further with shock. Confused, Wind Dragon turned back to look at what the fuss was about. However what he saw made him gasp. Standing directly in front of the portal's threshold was Long Shadow, he didn't look that much different than the last time they'd seen him. The only difference was that he was wearing a large, brown-fur coat.

"Hey guys." He greeted with a grin. "Now come on, we busting you outta here."

Wind Dragon looked at his in confusion. "What's going on?"

"And where is it that we're going?" Juice added.

Long Shadow looked at the two of them with heartfelt and did the same with the twins before answering. "Someplace where we can get help."

The other Ultimen looked amongst each other. They all were thinking the same thing; could they possibly be saved from their cruel fate? There was only one way to found out. Slowly, one by one, each captive Ultiman nodded to Long Shadow, and joined him by the portal. Downpour and Shifter were the last ones to join them, given as they were in the furthest corner of the room.

"Oh, here," Long Shadow said as he held out four more fur coats, "trust me, where we're going we're gonna need them." Long Shadow's teammates each took one coat and put them on. Then following his lead, the Ultimen stepped through the portal. In another flash of light, the room was completely void of any life.

* * *

The overall temperature in the place seemed to have dropped to well below freezing in a drop of a dime. Even with their fur coats, the Ultimen could still feel bites of cold seep through to their bodies and sting their exposed faces. The escapees took a good hard look at their surroundings. It seemed rather unusual to be fascinated by an icy cave, but the ice walls were so smooth and blue that it seemed artificially crafted.

"Where are we?" asked Wind Dragon.

Before any of the other Ultimen could make a guess, they heard a metal door on the opposite end of the cave slid open. They turned and saw two women approaching them. One of them looked just like any other person, had fair skin, blue eyes, and black hair. The other had pale white skin, and bluish-green hair that seemed to flicker on its own accord.

Although what held most of their attention was what was behind the two women. Stepping ever closer to them was a tall, polar bear-like creature that walked on its hind legs. It was covered head to toe in white-fur, but upon closer inspection, the Ultimen noticed that the bones of its left arm were completely visible and encased in solid ice. When the creature stood right before the Ultimen, everyone looked stared into its eyes with awe. They might have seen some unusual things in their superhero days, but this is on a whole another level.

"Hey there." The black haired woman said as she held out a hand to Wind Dragon, which he shook, albeit hesitantly. "Name's Dani," the woman then gestured to the ones that accompanied her, "and that's Ember… and Frostbite. We're Rachel's friends."

Ember remained silent as she looked at the Ultimen with a hard expression on her face. The large creature named Frostbite, on the other hand, put his snout-y face into a wide grin and raised his hand. "Greetings, young ones." His voice sounded very firm, yet somewhat gentle. The Ultimen eyed the three nervously as they very quietly returned the greetings.

"Who's Rachel?" asked Wind Dragon curiously.

Dani's smile broadened slightly. "She's calls herself Beacon in your world." The Ultimen widened their eyes in surprise.

"And after what _you _did to her," Ember jerked a finger in Juice's direction, "You're lucky I'm not smearing all over the wall." The Ultiman in question, as well as his teammates widened their eyes in fear and actually started shift further away.

"_Ember._" Dani said in a warning tone. The pale-ghost turned to her. "We're here to help them. Not threaten them."

Ember looked into Dani's eyes for a few seconds, and then crossed her arms again. "I'm just letting them know that their actions haven't gone unnoticed."

Dani rolled her eyes and turned back to the Ultimen. "I apologize for my friend." She stated with a pleasant smile.

The newcomers exchanged looks with each other, and then turned back to Dani."So...where are we?" The question escaped Wind Dragon's mouth.

"Isn't it obvious, Pretty-boy?" Ember grumbled. "You're in another universe."

* * *

**Wow that was a long chapter! Thanks a whole bunch to Jaugarspot for the spell check.**

**Thank you for reading. As always reviews are appreciated.**


	16. In-between Chapter 5

**I don't own DC or DP.**

**Thank you all once again for the favorites, follows, and also the reviews.**

**On another note: sorry for the shorter chapter this time. I wanted to quickly show what happens the Ultimen and what lies in store for them. **

Beacon of Justice

In-Chapter Chapter 5

The Ultimen were led to a large room filled with seemingly advanced equipment. Rather unsurprisingly, the walls of the room were made out of smooth ice, with a layer of frost covering all the machinery. The monitors along the walls all beeped at a steady pace, and the soft hums coming from the other machines added to the sympathy. Dani kindly gestured to an unusually long bench, and told them to have a seat and wait. The Ultimen walked over to the bench as a group and sat down. After making themselves comfortable, some of them attempted to warm up their hands by rubbing them furiously, or cupping them over their mouths and blowing into them. Even though the visitors have their big fur coats, it still wasn't enough to shield them from the cold completely. Shifter, the only female member of the Ultimen, had thought about changing into an animal that could naturally withstand the harsh temperature, but decided against it. During the team's time in confinement, they were informed that further use of their superpowers would only speed up their cellular degradation. She was not willing to tempt fate now when she was so close to getting the help that she and her teammates needed. She, along with her brother Downpour, just hugged their arms closer to their bodies in the hopes of preserving their precious body heat.

Frostbite made his way to a cabinet directly in front of the Ultimen and opened a few drawers. They could hear him rummaging through the drawer, taking out several objects, and placing them on the counter. However his size prevented them from being able to see what he had taken out. Dani was sitting on top of a low piece of machinery. She hunched over slightly as her thumbs tapped frantically away on her smartphone. Ember leaned against the wall immediately right next to door. She had her arms crossed, and she gazed in direction of the teens sitting on the bench.

Long Shadow glanced curiously at the two women. While he and the other Ultimen were all covered by a thick layer of fur, they _still_ feel like they were entering into hypothermia. Dani and Ember on the other hand, appeared to be dressed everyday clothing and seem completely unfazed by the climate. The Ultimen had since disregarded Frostbite, as he was covered head to toe in layers of white fur.

"Okay, I have to know about you two." Long Shadow began, making Dani and Ember look at him. "How is it that you two don't look cold even a little bit?"

"Hey, y-yeah!" Downpour exclaimed as he shivered violently. "It's so cold I feel like if I turned into water I would instantly freeze."

Dani and Ember exchanged looks. "Well, when you're a ghost," Ember shrugged, "the cold doesn't really have an effect on you."

The Ultimen stared at the guitarist in confusion. "Wait-wait." Shifter stammered as she held up her hands. "Did I hear you right? You said you're a-"

"Ghost." Dani finished before Shifter could. "Yeah, and Ember's not the only one; Frostbite's a ghost too."Frostbite turned his head at the mention of his name, and nodded affirmatively.

Long Shadow kept his eyes on Dani, still confused. "So if you're human, how are _you _not cold?"

The black-haired woman grinned and hopped off the machine. I'm Halfa; half human and half ghost." She explained. "When I was younger the cold would still get to me, but over time I got used to it."

The Ultimen continued to stare at Dani until they heard the soft thumps of Frostbite's footsteps approaching them. They turned and saw a silver tray in his hands. On top were six syringes filled with a bubbling green liquid. The ghost then extended his iced left arm downward. A beam of blue light shot out of his palm and slammed right into the floor. A layer of ice began to form and steadily rose higher. When Frostbite took his hand away, his placed the tray on the clear icicle stump he had created.

"What is that?" asked Wind Dragon as he pointed to the liquid inside on of the smile and raised his right hand, and clutched between his thumb and index finger was a vial containing the same liquid that were in the syringes.

"Inside each of these syringes in a concoction is known as Ecto-Dejecto." Frostbite gestured to the vial for emphasis. "It acts as a sort of stabilizing agent. When mixed with the blood in each of your bodies, the resulting solution will reverse the effects of your cellular degradation."

Each Ultiman raised their eyebrows in surprise. Was that true? They finally have the cure they desperately needed. While this was most definitely a cause for celebration, there was a lingering thought that couldn't escape their minds.

"Will it work?" questioned Downpour.

Frostbite's smile didn't falter even slightly. It's as if he had been expecting this exact question. "Oh why of course!" He answered with the fullest confidence. "Fear not, young ones. It will work and has worked." Unseen by all of them, Dani and Ember's eyes met, and they exchanged smirks.

* * *

One by one, the Ultimen rolled back their right sleeves, exposing their bare arms. Frostbite expressed another gentle smile and began to rub the crook of Wind Dragon's elbow with an alcohol wipe. Despite having such enormous arms, Frostbite's hands were amazingly gentle. After sterilizing the patch of skin, the white-furred ghost picked up one of the syringes, and introduced it into Wind Dragon's blood stream. After he was finished with Wind Dragon, he smoothly repeated the process with the other Ultmen.

"So how do you guys feel?" asked Dani after a few seconds. It was somewhat small, but it was most definitely there. The Ultimen could feel a wave of warmth flow through their body, heating them from the worst of the cold. They knew that they still couldn't survive without their fur coats, but at least the edge was taken off.

"I feel…" Wind Dragon paused to confirm his feelings. "Great! It's like my head's clear for the first time in days."

"That's awesome." Dani smiled enthusiastically. "You guys look a lot better too."

"Less pale and green around the gills, that's for sure." commented Ember.

"_Ember." _Dani mumbled under her breath in a warning tone. The guitarist ghost only responded with a lazy shrug.

The Ultimen each expressed the widest smile they could muster. Then they cheered, and hugged one another. They were cured! They were no longer going to have to endure any further suffering. Shifter bounced off from the bench, and flung her arms around Dani. "Thank you!" she cried into her shoulder.

Before Dani could wrap her arms around the shape-shifter, she let go and encircled Ember into a tight embrace. She repeated her cry of thanks while the ghost shouted incoherent phrases as she struggled and squirmed in an attempt to escape. Shifter released Ember and hurried over to Frostbite, whose size made it impossible for her to enclose him completely. So the female twin just settled for resting her arms on his fur, like a person laying spread out on a piece of shag carpet.

"Thank you." she repeated a third time.

"It was my pleasure, young one." The ghost replied gently as he lightly patted Shifter's back.

"I hate to break up the celebration," Ember announced, all eyes turned to her, "but what's the next step for you guys?"

Long Shadow's eyes lit up as he responded. "I'm gonna head back to the League. Hey! Speaking of which," he turned to the others. "you guys should come with me."

Wind Dragon eyed the size-changing hero for a second, before looking away and expressing a frown. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Long Shadow was taken aback by his statement. "W-why?"

"Because…" A lump formed in Wind Dragon's throat, preventing him from finishing his sentence.

"Because we never really acted like true heroes at all. " Juice chimed in.

"We were a group of spoiled kids who were too caught up in fame and fortune." said Downpour. "And we were willing to tear down a building full of people just so we could find a way to save our own skin."

"We acted like a group of out-of-control freaks with no regard for others." Shifter added.

Long Shadow stared aghast at his old teammates. "Oh, come on guys! So you messed up. The League is still willing to forgive you."

Wind Dragon shook his head. "Even if that were true, Cadmus would still come after us." He theorized. "We'll never truly be safe."

The temperature in the room became unbearable again. The Ultimen scrunched their limbs closer towards their bodies to remain as warm as they could. They sulked as they thought about what Wind Dragon had said. He did have a point, as long as they are within reach of Cadmus, they wouldn't stop until they have regained their "property".

"Well, if that's what you feel." Dani spoke up, shifting everyone's attention. "Then you're more than welcome to stay here, and if you want, you can enroll in the Guardian program."

"Guardian program?" Wind Dragon repeated. "What's that?"

"The Guardian program is an organization tasked with maintaining the peace in our world." Frostbite explained.

"We kick butt and take names." Ember added. "Anyone needs help, they call us."

"If you think about it," Dani spoke up again, "it's not that different than what the Justice League does."

The Ultimen exchanged looks with each other, and then stared at their three hosts. However they remained silent, having no idea what to say. "Okay, how about we step out while you guys talk about this." Dani suggested. She turned to the two ghosts. "Guys, come on." The three of them started to make their way out of the room. Dani was the last one out, but she stopped at the doorway and turned back to the Ultimen. "We'll be right outside. Come get us when you're ready, okay?" After receiving several nods of acknowledgement, Dani exited and shut the door.

* * *

With their three hosts gone, Long Shadow turned back to the other Ultimen. "Guys, I really think you should reconsider. As long as the League has your back you don't have to be afraid of Cadmus anymore."

Wind Dragon walked up to Long Shadow and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's fine, Long Shadow." He told him with a slight grin. "You earned your spot on League, and you should go out and enjoy it. Don't worry about us." His eyes shifted away from Long Shadow as a thought appeared in his head. He turned to the rest of his teammates. "I don't want to speak on your behalf. So how do you guys feel about this?"

Downpour, Shifter, and Juice exchanged looks with each other. After nodding in unison, they turned back to Long Shadow and Wind Dragon.

"We're gonna stay." Juice decided.

"Here we have a chance to start over." said Downpour.

"And live to our full potential of being true heroes." Shifter added.

Long Shadow gazed at his teammates. He noticed that some of their old flame had returned. They felt like and wanted to be like heroes again, not for wealth and recognition, but for the sake of helping others. He couldn't help but smile at all of them.

"Okay." He nodded proudly. The others each gave the size-changing a smile of their own and huddled closer together.

"Come on," Wind Dragon declared, "let's go tell Dani and the others."

* * *

After being informed of the Ultimen's decision, Dani's lip curled into a warm smile and informed them they would get started on their registration right away. Before they proceeded out of the cave, Frostbite pulled out the Infi-map, and opened a portal back to the Justice League's universe. Long Shadow and the other Ultimen exchanged wishes of good luck, as well as promises to keep in touch with one another. Finally the group shared one last embrace, and then the size-changing hero disappeared through the portal.

* * *

As the newcomers followed their three hosts, they conversed excitedly amongst themselves about their new lives here in this new world. Now with the threat of imminent death no longer hanging over their heads, they talked about how this world would be compared to the one they were from. What types of people would they interact with, and perhaps most importantly, what adventures lie in store for them?

"So what's next on the list now?" asked Shifter. She had taken the liberty of shapeshifting herself into a polar bear, now that she could use her powers freely again.

Dani kept her legs moving but she looked over her shoulder when she answered. "We'll need to get you settled in. You are going to be living here after all." she said matter-of-factly. "But before all that, I feel like you should get a glimpse of what you're gonna be protecting."

They all rounded a corner and could see a light at the end of the tunnel. The Ultimen would've preferred the pace to be a little faster, but they just held their tongue as they gently strolled towards the exit.

* * *

Once they stepped out of the tunnel and into the wide open air, the group found themselves near a ledge, surrounded by immensely tall, pointy, ice and snow covered mountains in almost every direction. What made the Ultimen's jaws drop however wasn't the scene that lay in front of them, but rather it was what was above them. Up in the sky, seemingly floating with absolutely no assistance, were patches of terrain with sizes ranging from small islands, to small continents. The floating pieces of land looked so dreamlike that the Ultimen had to rub their eyes, shake their heads, and pinch themselves to make sure they were still lucid.

"Young ones…" They heard Frostbite call to them. He, Dani, and Ember were standing closer to the ledge, seemingly surveying what lied below them. The Ultimen followed suit, and widened their eyes at what they saw. Below them was what appeared to be a well-populated and thriving town. The buildings were laden with fresh snow, they seemed evenly spaced, and didn't seem to go above five stories tall. The Ultimen paid closer attention to the swarms of life forms making their way through the town. They noticed there were more creatures that resembled very closely to Frostbite, while others looked human and were dressed in very thick and bulky clothing. Another group of life form also appeared to be human, but instead their skin ranged from being very pale to a strange looking bright-green.

"Welcome to the Far Frozen." Frostbite finished, hold his arms up to indicate the landscape.

"You mean Antarctica?" Ember quipped as she turned to him, eyebrow raised and a smirk etched on her face.

Frostbite whipped his head towards her, narrowing his eyes while he pouted crossly. "As you know _Ember_, we have legally changed the name." he remarked in a reminding tone.

"I know, don't worry, big boy." Ember replied. "It was just fun to push your buttons."

Dani rolled her eyes at her friend and turned to the Ultimen, who still had their eyes on the town below. "So what'd you guys think?"

The Ultimen turned their bulging eyes to her. It took them several seconds to work off the shock factor before responding. Downpour pointed his finger upward.

"H-how is that possible?" he demanded, his tone a little shaken.

Dani didn't even blink. "Well, we learned that's what happens when two worlds collide with each other."

"What?" the word escaped Shifter's mouth.

With yet another smile, Frostbite took over. "For ages, ghosts and humans existed alongside one another in parallel, but separate worlds." The ghost explained. "The only access to and from both worlds were a series of portals located in completely random locations.

"That remained until one day; a very powerful energy source was able to alter the realities of the two parallel worlds." Frostbite raised his right arm to indicate their surroundings. "And _this _was the result."

"That day is what we all call the Co-existence." Dani resumed. "Naturally though, humans and ghosts alike utterly refused to get along at first. Humans were just too opposed to change, and ghosts were just… too stubborn to share."

"Watch it, Fenton." Ember said in a warning tone.

"Oh come on, Em. You know it's true."

"Whatever." Ember muttered after a sigh.

Dani turned back to the Ultimen. "But eventually, the two groups learned to live among each other in peace. And as Guardians, it is our jobs to keep that peace."

The place was silent as the Ultimen tried to make sense of what they were just told, and their minds worked quickly to form questions.

"So, what was this 'Ghost world' like?" Wind Dragon wanted to know.

"Oh, man! Where do I even start?" Ember exclaimed as she jerked her eyes upward. "Well, long story short, the place absolutely sucked!"

"I never found it to be _that _dreadful." Frostbite countered with a shrug.

"Oh, here we go." Ember rolled her eyes before glaring at her fellow ghost. "You were in charge of you realm, people listened to you. I had to deal with constant moans and wails of misery. I could never get a good night's sleep!"

"Wait a second. Ghost can sleep?" Shifter blurted out.

"Well, _duh!_ " Ember cried out exasperatingly. "What made you think otherwise?"

The female twin's eyes shifted to one side. "Well…uh…I…I…"

* * *

Before Shifter could form a more complete sentence, a loud whooshing sound made everyone turn towards the vast openness directly in front of them. A split second later, their eyes honed in on a figure fast approaching them on some sort of hoverboard. Before the Ultimen could ask anything regarding whom it was, the figure came to an abrupt halt right in front of them. The resulting gust of air blew more snow onto everyone's bodies, although only the Ultimen seemed to be bothered by this. As the young heroes brushed of the snow, they took the time to study to the new arrival. The figure was decked out head to toe in a suit of red and black, high-tech armor, complete with a full-face helmet and black-tinted face shield. Judging from the curves, the Ultimen had no doubt that this person in the armor was a woman. Right below her feet was a somewhat "V" shaped hoverboard, with the tips ending at a sharp point, giving it a rather sinister feel.

"Hey, Val." Dani greeted with an unfazed tone. In response, the armored woman's face shield lifted up into a slot built into the helmet, revealing a young African-American woman with green eyes, and a firm expression.

"Hey, guys." She said to Dani, Ember, and Frostbite, then her eyes shifted to the Ultimen. "So these are the guys Rach told you about?"

"Yep, these are the Ultimen."

"How's it goin'?" Valerie raised her hand in greeting. "Valerie Gray, nice to meet you."

"Y-yeah, you too." Wind Dragon replied after a second. Then he stepped forward and placed a hand on his chest. "Name's Wind Dragon," he turned to gesture towards his teammates. "and these are-"

"Sorry, hate to interrupt." Valerie said with hast. Then she turned back to Dani and Ember. "We've been called in; I'll explain on the way."

Dani and Ember exchanged looks, then nods. The guitarist lifted herself into the air and floated up to Valerie's level. Dani turned to Frostbite.

"Can you look after them while I'm gone?"

The white-furred ghost grinned at his friend. "It would be my pleasure."

"Thanks, Frostbite." She returned the smile. She turned straight ahead, tightened her fists, and bent her knees slightly. Her eyes were poised with concentration. "I'm going ghost!"

There was a flash of bright light as a white ring appeared around Dani's midsection. The ring separated into two and started to travel along her body; one up, one down. When the rings vanished, Dani was wearing a black and white bodysuit; her hair was white and her eyes green. The Ultimen's eyes shot open again as Dani kicked off the ground; blowing air and snow in every direction.

The three women soared off side by side higher into the sky, before disappearing above the clouds. A split second later, Frostbite and the Ultimen could hear a telltale sound of a sonic-boom rip through the air.

* * *

**So there you have it! The Ultimen are cured and now they chose to stay in the DP universe.**

**Now rest assured, they will make a reappearance, and with more DP characters.**

**Don't forget to review, and I will see you all next time.**


	17. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own...well...you know...**

**Yep! It's that time again folks! Please enjoy the following chapter!**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 12

**Watchtower**

"So, I've been dying to know," Supergirl began, "why are you called 'Echo'?" She and Beacon stood beside the large window in the Watchtower's main room. In the Kryptonian's hand was a paper mug filled with steaming black coffee. Supergirl's preference for the drink was based solely on taste; in her mind, caffeine was nowhere near solar radiation's ball park. She continued to take small sips of the brew as she focused her eyes on the miniature robot floating directly before her.

"_My initial activation required a sample of DNA._" Echo began to explain, his brightly lit eyes trained on Supergirl's. Then he shifted to Beacon. "_Which, as you know, was provided by Robin… while albeit, unintentionally._" Beacon leaned against the window as she sipped her own beverage; a milkshake, by sucking it through a straw, before lowering it and nodding to her robotic friend.

Supergirl looked between the Halfa and the robot, her confusion was still clearly etched onto her face. "What does that mean?"

Beacon smiled at Supergirl. "Robin accidently cut himself when he was trying to figure out how Echo worked." she answered. "A drop of blood fell onto Echo's head and… well…" She finished her explanation with a gesture to Echo.

Supergirl nodded in understanding and took another sip of her coffee. "So what happened after that?"

"_After converting Robin's DNA into my memory banks,_" Echo continued. "_my appearance was modeled after his genetic structure; such as his face, voice, and a portion of his power._"

"Does that mean you have ghost powers?"

"_Correct…partially. Intangibility is the only power in my arsenal that is accustomed to ghosts_."

"Oh, I see." the Girl of Steel muttered.

"See Kara, it's like this," Beacon said as she stood upright, "Echo was based off of my cousin. So in a way, he's like an 'echo' of him. Get it?"

Supergirl blinked once, then again, and again before she finally understood. "_Oh! _I get it… an 'echo'." She let out a light chuckle. "That's kinda clever."

"Really?" Beacon asked disbelievingly. "I thought it was kinda dumb at first. No offense by the way."

"_None taken._" The robot replied, the two girls shared a giggle for a few seconds, before from out of nowhere; Echo's eyes grew intensely bright, rose vertically to mimic shock or surprise. "_Alert, proximity breach detected, Portal opening imminent._"

A bit of color drained from Supergirl's face. "Uh, Rach? What's going on?" By now more Leaguers, having heard or heard of Echo's announcement, had gathered in the main room. The Leaguers weren't too bunched up, but were still in their immediate vicinity. Most of the surrounding heroes looked confused, but others looked like they were ready for a fight.

The lack of surprise of Beacon's face caused everyone to stare at her with confusion and worry. "Don't worry," She answered with a reassuring tone and smile, "It's nothing bad." Before Supergirl could ask another question, there was a flash of bright-blue light that made everyone shield their eyes. When the light was gone, the League lowered their hands and saw a long-haired young man standing before them.

"Hey guys!" waved Long Shadow.

Realizing that there wasn't a threat, the surrounding Leaguers made several sounds of relief, and then dispersed. Beacon, Echo, and Supergirl approached the returned Leaguer.

"Hey there, Long Shadow." Beacon greeted with a smile on her face. "How was the Far Frozen?"

"Freezing." The long-haired hero commented with a chuckle. His was still wearing his big fur coat, which was still covered with specks of snow. "Dani and Frostbite were nice. Ember though, seemed…"

"Hostile?" Beacon finished for him.

"…Yeah…"

"Don't let it get to you." Beacon said again. "She grows on you after a while." As she finished her sentence, her eyes shifted upwards towards the presence she felt descending upon them. Wonder Woman and Superman landed directly in front of Long Shadow, bright smiles on both of their faces.

"Long Shadow." Wonder Woman wrapped her arms around the young hero. "It's good to see you." Long Shadow's cheeks flushed as he nervously scratched the back of his head.

When Wonder Woman stepped back, Superman extended his hand for Long Shadow to shake, which he did without hesitation. "Great to have you back, son." He remarked.

"Thanks. It's good to _be _back."

"I take it you and the Ultimen are cured from your cellular degradation?" Wonder Woman asked.

"As far as I can tell, yes." replied Long Shadow. "I haven't had any migraines so far, so that's always a good sign."

"_Your statement is correct._"The grouped turned right as Echo's eyes dimmed back to their usual intensity. "_The injection of Ecto-Dejecto has successfully bonded with your bloodstream. There are no traces of cellular atrophy._"

Even though Echo only confirmed what he'd already know, it still caused him to grin widely. Beacon could understand why; despite having limited time, all Long Shadow really wanted was to be a member of the Justice League. Now that he was cured, he can be with the League for as long as he wants.

"Where are the other Ultimen?" Wonder Woman questioned. Upon hearing this Long Shadow's face fell slightly.

"They chose not to come back," he explained, "they're staying in that world so they could enroll in this 'Guardian Program'."

"Then you have nothing to worry about." Beacon said with a confident smile as she put a hand on his shoulder. "They're in the good hands, the best actually." Long Shadow looked at her for a moment before nodding in comprehension. Then he turned back to the two founding Leaguers.

"So, does J'onn have any assignments that he needs completed?" he asked excitedly. "I'm itching to get back out there."

Before either the Amazon or the Man of Steel could answer, Echo's synthetic voice sounded from behind them. "_Alert, hostile presence detected in coordinates: 37.8425 degrees North and 109.5425 degrees West._"

"Uh-oh," mumbled Beacon as she frowned. "This can't be good."

A split second later, Martian Manhunter's voice boomed over the speaker system. "Attention all Leaguers: we have an Omega-level threat. Assemble in the main room immediately. This is not a drill. Repeat; we have an Omega-level threat. Assemble in the Main area immediately. This is not a drill."

Supergirl turned to Long Shadow, who had the shocked look in his eyes. "Well, it looks like you got what you wished for."

* * *

After huddling around Manhunter, the entire League was briefed on the situation. The Watchtower's scanners have indicated a large alien presence in the middle of the Neveda dessert. The US military had been deployed to the ground and was trying to contain it to the best of their ability, but they were quickly overwhelmed by an army of strange mechanical creatures. That's where the Justice League comes in. Ultimately, their task was to eliminate the hostile alien threat, and minimize damage to the three surrounding towns. When the brief was concluded, Wonder Woman volunteered to take some of the non-flying Leaguers down to Earth in a Javelin, while everyone else headed for the teleporter pad.

It was nighttime as Beacon flew high above the dessert. Turning her head to either side, she saw her fellow flying Leaguers in a tight formation. In the center of the formation was a lone Javelin, piloted by Wonder Woman. Directly below them was a few of the Leaguers that didn't have gravity defying powers, but were able to keep up with them all the same. As the Leaguers passed through a patch of grey cloud, they saw a massive, mechanical, "blob" like structure resting on top of a table mountain. Beacon looked down and saw tiny sliver dots, followed by gulfs of fiery explosions. It seemed the military was still trying to fight the best they could. As the League loomed ever closer to the "blob", the voice of the military's commander spoke over their communicators.

"_Containment has failed and we are taking heavy losses, requesting emergency support. I repeat: we cannot contain them! _"

"_Sounds like the commander can use a little reassurance._" Superman spoke to his communicator.

"_Let's hope we can give it to him._" Batman joined in from inside his personal jet; the Batwing.

"_We'll give it to him alright, and then some._" Wonder Woman said before looking to the Leaguers seating behind her. "_Strength in numbers and all that._"

Beacon noticed the military helicopters had flown past the League as they made their retreat. Then watched as Batman quickly guided his plane towards the giant mass on top of the mountain, since the Batwing was faster than the Javelin, the Dark Knight was able to race ahead and get a closer look.

"_It's growing bigger._" The Dark Knight's voice spoke over the open channel. "_It's somehow devouring everything around it, and converting it into mass._"

"_And those spider-like things?_" asked Wonder Woman.

"_The same, and once they're done with debris from the Army's attempt to beat them back; they're going to spread out to those three towns._" Normally the Halfa would've chimed in and mutter words of encouragement, or something that related to "That's not going to happen.", but she decided to keep her mouth shut; she didn't need to say what everyone already knew. Right as she finished the thought, J'onn's voice sounded in her communicator.

"_Diana, I have the communications feed from the general on the ground._" The Martian informed. "_Patching him through._"

"_This is Wonder Woman._" The Amazon stated. "_Go ahead, General._"

A voice of a crusty, yet authoritative middle-aged man spoke to her. "_This is General Eiling, USAF. We're in the process of evacuating the three towns in the immediate vicinity; we need those…things locked down._"

"_Then the first task is containment._"Wonder Woman realized.

"_I've got something onboard that may buy us a little more time._" Batman's voice spoke again. He pulled the Batwing closer to the blob and deployed a large, tear drop shaped bomb. Upon impact, a thick layer of ice began to spread across the entire body of the mass until it was completely encased. The spiders below stopped in their tracks and turned to face their frozen main construct with their big, red eyes. However a second later they turned back around and continued to push their way down the mesa towards the towns… and the Justice League.

"_Batman? What was that?_ "Wonder Woman asked.

"_Thermionic gas,_" Batman told her, "_cooled to within a few degrees of absolute zero._"

"_Why would you have something like that onboard?_ "

"_I needed to freeze the Gotham River once; long story._"

_Good ol'Bats, always prepared for anything. _Beacon thought good-humoredly as Superman quickly seized the opportunity granted to them.

"Move in." The Man of Steel commanded. Without hesitation, the entire League engaged the mechanical spiders; using energy blasts, the mystic arts, weapons, and even their bare fists to rip them apart.

Beacon, along with Green Lantern, flew along the side of the wall of the mesa as they shot steady beams of energy towards the advancing spiders. The Halfa realized the machines weren't really that remarkable. Granted they were very creepy, but the slightest nick was to be enough to take them down. Their only advantage seemed to be their numbers, and there were a _lot _of them.

As Beacon and Lantern made their way almost around the mesa, they were joined by Supergirl, who was just able to use her body to mow the spiders down. "Boy, these things are relentless." She commented after an exhale.

"You said it." Beacon replied. "But we're just gonna have to keep-"

"Wait…" Supergirl interrupted as she jerked her head towards the Javelin, as well as the team of Leaguers on the ground. The plane was being slowly dragged down into the earth by another horde of spiders. Thanks to her super sensitive ears, she was able to hear the mechanical creatures burrow their way underground and eventually catch the Leaguers by surprise. "They need help!" she immediately yelled to the other two. Not needing to be told twice, Beacon and Lantern followed the Girl of Steel towards the overwhelmed heroes.

* * *

Green Arrow shot three arrows simultaneously and picked off three spiders. Then each subsequent explosion took out about ten more. The Archer along with the other Leaguers on the ground were successfully laying waste to the spiders but the wave of creepy bugs just keep coming and it was only a matter of time before they would breach through the League's attacks. Just as Arrow pulled back his string and aimed his arrow at a spider leaping towards him, a jet of heat vision skewered the machine in half and it exploded right at the archer's feet. Barely a second later, jets of blue energy blasted the front-most spiders, causing even more fiery pillars of smoke to rise into the air.

Arrow looked over his head and grinned brightly when he saw Beacon and Supergirl hover above head, still making quick work of the silver spiders with their long-ranged attacks. "Appreciate the help, kids." He thanked.

"Don't mention it." Supergirl quickly replied. As she and Beacon moved further above the wave of silver to take out of more spiders, reinforcements had arrived to assist the ground team. Long Shadow, along with Atom Smasher were both at their maximum height; each standing over several hundred feet. They stomped on the spiders and then quickly pounded them with their fists.

Superman and Wonder Woman were both taking out spiders on the left flank when a beep rang in their communicators. After tuning in to what J'onn had to say, they instantly disengaged and ran back towards their fellow Leaguers.

"Everyone, fall back! Fall back!" barked the Kryptonian. When the rest of the ground team looked back at him, he quickly explained the new situation. "The Watchtower's about to fire the Binary Fusion Cannon!"

The other Leaguers widened their eyes. They had been aware of the giant weapon housed in their headquarters. The BFC converts the station's entire energy output into one single shot. According to what they had been told, it has the power equivalent to a small nuclear weapon. Knowing this, the Leaguers wanted to be nowhere near the blast when it hits pay dirt. As one cohesive group, they followed the Superman's instructions and retreated. They still kept their eyes firmly locked on the advancing spiders; they were in the game long enough to know that turning their back on an opponent can be foolish in battle.

"Rach, you heard that, right?" asked Supergirl.

"Yep, loud and clear." The Halfa quickly answered. "Let's go!"

* * *

The entire Justice League had retreated to a clearing about a mile away from the alien construct. Less than five seconds later, the sky was filled with an extremely bright light. Then a gigantic pillar of energy shot through the clouds and slammed onto the ground right in front of the advance horde of spiders. Most Leaguers; save for those that could withstand it, had to shield their eyes from the immensely bright light as the pillar slowly etched its way along a curved path. When the light vanished, the energy had carved a circular trench several miles deep, isolated the spiders and their main vessel.

The members of the League found this time to catch their breath, but they all knew that the fight was nowhere near over. The trench would slow the spiders down, but eventually they'll find a way out.

Batman, who was still in the Batwing, flew over the scene. The spider did appear as if they seemed confused about their predicament. However the Dark Knight looked over towards the massive structure, he felt a major twinge of unease. "It's still growing bigger." He said as he flew directly past the vessel, which had grown big enough to encase half the mesa with its body. "We're going to have to-"He cut off his sentence when he heard a metallic _clunk _on his aircraft. Looking out his windows he noticed a pair of mechanical tigers had landed on his plane. The machines were digging into the plane and shredding the insides with their razor-sharp fangs. Batman tried to throw them off with some aerial maneuvers, but the tigers managed to cling on to the aircraft. Thinking quickly, the Dark Knight immediately opened his cockpit and threw a pair of Batarangs at the two tigers, successfully knocking them off. Before he could regain control of his plane, another tiger landed right in front of him and reared its teeth at him. To avoid getting his head ripped off, Batman pulled on a lever and ejected out of his plane. Unfortunately, the tiger was lock on to him and rapidly fired bolts of plasma towards ejector seat. Batman was able to detach his harness right before his seat exploded, but now he was freefalling with no parachute.

"Batman to all points," he said rather calmly as he continued to fall, "I could use some air-support. Since I can't fly… At all." The ground loomed ever closer and he spoke again. "Now would be good."

A few seconds from splatting onto solid earth, Batman heard a familiar _whoosh _and was swooped into the air. He turned and looked into the face of the Big Blue Boy Scout.

"As I was saying," Batman resumed coolly, "we have an hour before we can reestablish communication with the Watchtower. Until then, we're going to need to come up with something, and fast." He finished as he and Superman landed directly at the front of Justice League.

The Man of Steel turned around and glared at the vessel. "If anything, that trench should buy time some time to get the townspeople out." He declared confidently. "Now I wanna learn about these things."

"_That information has already been acquired._"

The Leaguers turned their heads upwards at the sound of the synthetic voice, and widened their eyes when they saw Echo out of confinement. Batman, on the other hand, tightened his jaw, and narrowed his eyes dangerously at the little robot.

"How are _you _here?" he demanded.

Echo floated down to his eye level, and stared at Batman as he gave his reply. "_I boarded the Javelin that Wonder Woman piloted._"

"So, what do you mean that information was already acquired?" Superman asked hastily.

Echo turned to face him. "_During the battle, I've taken the liberty of scanning the spiders as well as their main vessel._"

"And what did you find?" asked Wonder Woman.

"_The spiders appear to be duplicates of the main vessel."_ Echo explained. _"Upon closer examination; at each of their center lies a small machine that allows them to function. Furthermore, the machine appears to be emitting some sort of pulse approximately every 1.843 seconds. _"

Superman turned to face what's left of the mesa again, and narrowed his eyes. Using a combination of X-ray and microscopic vision on the spiders and their mothership, he found what Echo had mentioned. At the center of all of them was a miniature purple and red core, suspended by a series of black arteries.

"Echo's right." Superman confirmed. "There's some sort of…Dark Heart, building around itself."

"Hmm, that does explain the pulse you detected." Wonder Woman said to the miniature robot.

"_Correct._"

At that moment, Beacon landed right next to her robot friend, with Supergirl landing next to her a second later. The Halfa stared at Echo in awe. "You snuck outta the Watchtower? Why didn't you tell me?"

Echo's metallic mouth curled into a light-grin. "_You were already teleported out of the Watchtower. Also I did not wish to hinder your focus._"

"Oh, Echo… you could've a least told me."

"Beacon." Superman cut off their conversation. "Please, we have more pressing issued at hand."

The ghost-girl blushed. "S-sorry." She muttered shyly.

* * *

With the interruption out of the way, Batman thought of an idea and turned to Superman. "We're going to need Ray Palmer." Before he could say anymore, he was interrupted this time by Echo.

"_Doctor Palmer is currently nursing a minor concussion, three fractured ribs, and a fractured fibula_." The robot informed. "_He is unfit for duty for another six to eight weeks."_

Batman glared at him while Superman looked somewhat confused. "How did you know that?" asked Superman. "I thought you didn't have access to the Watchtower's databases."

"_You would be correct_." Echo replied. _"However, I was able to run a diagnostic scan on Doctor Palmer as he was being carted to the Watchtower's medical facility._" Now that Echo had mentioned it, Beacon had heard bits and pieces about what happened to Ray Palmer, aka The Atom. Apparently, he was in his lab trying to subdue some kind of rogue nanite. The Atom was ultimately successful, but he didn't come out unscathed. Probably the best he could do at this moment was to offer his opinions on the matter.

"In any case, he can still give us more insight about how to deal with those things" Batman spoke again before turning back to Superman, "He's in Boston, you'd get there the fastest."

"_That may not be necessary._" Echo's voice rang out again, making Batman clench his jaw. "_I have adequate data to resolve this issue._"

Superman and Wonder Woman blinked at him, and then in unison turned to the Dark Knight. "I don't think so." He mumbled darkly after a few tense seconds.

Echo simply stared at him impassively. "_While I may not be a renowned expert of nanotechnology like Doctor Palmer, I have access to the fundamentals regarding the subject._"

"No." Batman firmly denied.

Beacon, who had remained silent, shook her head. "_Really_, Batman?" she questioned in a tone of disbelief. "You're really gonna to do this right now?"

The Dark Knight ignored the Halfa and turned his back on her, which only added to her frustration. Beacon stalked right up next to Batman. Her brow was greatly furrowed and her eyes were ablaze as she scowled right at the Dark Knight, although unsurprisingly, the man just kept his eyes fixed forward. "You have a walking, talking supercomputer that is willing to help, and you won't even stop to consider it?"

Beacon waited a few seconds for Batman to respond. However, when nothing of the sort came out, the Halfa decided enough was enough; she was willing to play nice before, but this was just unacceptable. Beacon clenched her fists as she lifted off the ground. Then she floated around to Batman's eye level, and stopped inches from his face. "Let me tell you something; Echo never had to listen to you." She muttered angrily. "If he wanted to he could have done whatever he wanted on Watchtower. But instead he chose to put up with your 'punishment' because he respected you and the League as a whole. He has and will _never_ want to harm to anyone we care about!" Every member of the Justice League standing behind them was completely still as Beacon ended her rant. Unfortunately, true to his stoic nature, Batman didn't so much as blink at her words. Beacon had to make a great effort to not roll her eyes and let out a loud, exasperated groan. That's when a thought popped into her head.

"Oh, and for your information," She went on, "if he'd been there with me, we would've known everything about 'Cadmus' by now!"

This finally caused something to stir in the man standing opposite her. Batman narrowed his eyes, and locked-in his trademark Bat-glare, but the Halfa's anger drowned out any sense of fear. The tension in the atmosphere surrounding the two Leaguers seemed to have increased immensely. Superman was actually worried that Batman was going to retaliate via physical means. He began stepping forward to put some distance between the two, but his ears picked up on a sound further down the dessert. Superman turned to look at the direction of the vessel. His eyes fell right on the edge of the trench, just as the horde of mechanical spiders surfaced and began to make their way towards them.

"They're coming this way!" Superman yelled in shock, causing a stir amongst the other Leaguers. Beacon could not believe it; all the time that they had was wasted, all because of one little disagreement. Now Batman's glare turned into a snarl as he looked over his shoulder to address all the other Leaguers.

"Hold them off so we can come up with a plan!" He ordered. Even though they had nothing to go on, the League valiantly charged forward, meeting the spiders head on. They would not hesitate to defend their home with their very lives. When the vast majority of the League had charged past him, Batman rounded on Beacon. "I hope you're happy with yourself." He sneered coldly. "We would've had a plan by now if you hadn't-"

"Oh, don't you start with me!" Beacon interrupted as she yelled. "And there was a plan; it was floating right there in front of you face!" As she said her last sentence, she jerked her arm up, and pointed directly at Echo. The Bat and the Ghost-girl squared off again as they glared daggers into each other's eyes; neither of them were willing to give an inch.

Supergirl could do nothing but stare wide-eyed at her girlfriend. All she'd ever known was mostly her kind and gentle nature. Never before had she seen her anger at anywhere near this level, and she directed that fury at no one else but _the _Batman. The Girl of Steel wasn't sure if she ever wanted to see that side of the Halfa again.

"Bruce! Rachel!" Wonder Woman called out, the two Leaguers in question turned to the Amazon. "Our time is short, and our options are limited."

"She's right, Batman." Superman agreed. "We really don't have much of a choice."

The Dark Knight gazed at both Superman and Wonder Woman with the hardest of looks. Then with the slightest flare in his nostrils, he caved. "_Fine!_ " He barked, and then he turned towards Echo. "You have a plan, let's hear it." In all honesty, Beacon did feel for Batman, after all he was put into the Justice League's equivalent of a rock and a hard place. Nevertheless, the Halfa felt the warmth of satisfaction surge through her body, but didn't let it emote on her face, as she landed back on her feet.

"_Very well._" Echo acknowledged. Once the group of Leaguers had huddled him, the robot stretched out his right hand, his circular palm facing the sky. Then from the center of his palm, a holographic image of one of the spiders appeared, as well as one of the vicious tigers that attacked the Batwing earlier.

"_These machines are programed to wander, consume, and replicate. They will use any and every material to serve their purposes. And they will only cease once everything has been consumed._"

"So, this isn't just about those three towns." Wonder Woman brought up the hair-raising realization.

"_Affirmative, the machines will follow their programming until they have consumed every material on Earth._" Echo replied. "_The machines will also not discriminate; they will consume metal, plastic, soil, rock, plant life…_"

"People." Batman finished grimly.

"So how will we defeat them?" asked Wonder Woman. "We destroy one, the vessel will just breed three more." At her statement, the holographic projection of the spider and tiger shifted to the right, only to be replaced by a projection of the main ship.

"_The feasible solution is to target the main vessel._" Echo explained. "_Once its core is destroyed, its subordinates will be rendered useless._"

"How're you going to get inside that thing?" Supergirl brought her question forward.

"You could just phase inside until you get to the core." Beacon suggested. Her robotic friend turned to face her.

"_That would yield unfavorable results. The space inside the vessel is too compacted for my physical form. There is a high probability that I would be crushed under those conditions once I phase out of my intangible state._"

"So, you'll have to do it the old-fashioned way." Beacon deduced. The other Leaguers turned and eyed the Halfa curiously. What kind of old-fashioned way?

"_Affirmative, _Echo repeated,"_however merely destroying the vessel will be inadequate._"

"What do you mean?" Wonder Woman asked. The robot turned to face the Amazon.

"_The act of_ _converting one material into another occurs at a microscopic level._" He explained. "_If the tiniest speck of the vessel remains, it is enough for the process to repeat._" The Leaguers were a bit shocked to hear this; if they want to succeed, they were literally going to have to "leave no trace".

"_Fortunately, there is a high probability that I can reprogram the vessel to shut down." _Echo continued_, _and again the holographic image being projected out of his palm shifted. Now it was a display of a square grid, with hundreds of tiny white dots that the represented the horde of spiders. Raised slightly behind the small dots was a bigger dot that represented the main vessel. "_I will make an advance towards the vessel._" As he said it, a yellow line zigged and zagged along the grid, but remained on a forward path towards the big dot._ "Once I am in position, I will discharge a beam with sufficient energy to create the necessary cavity for me to gain access to the core. Once reached, I should be able to reprogram the vessel." _

"Sounds like a plan," Beacon said positively, "and I'll gladly back you up on the way to the vessel."

Echo lowered his hand as the holographic image faded away. "_That would be highly beneficial, as well as appreciated._"

"Hold that thought," Supergirl chimed in, "It's _we _will gladly back you up." She said it while waving a finger back and forth between herself and Beacon. The two girls looked at each other and smiled, though they daren't do anything more, given where they were at.

"Don't count us out." Wonder Wonder said as she expressed a broad smile and put her hands on her hips.

"Well, the more the merrier." Beacon stated. Superman and Wonder Woman walked closer to the two girls and the robot. Then all of them simultaneously turned to fix their eyes on Batman. Once again, his stoic expression was impossible to read, but slowly, the Dark Knight pressed a finger into the communicator in his cowl, and began to issue commands.

"All points, this is Batman; we have a new plan. There will be a team making their way to the main vessel. Superman, Wonder Woman will back them up. Everyone else: we draw a line here. No one is going to die because of us." He ended his transmission and started at the others. "Take it down." He muttered.

"_Objectives acquired._" Echo informed. Then he turned on the spot to face the vessel. "_Battle mode; initiated._" His eyes began to glow as a thin sheet of metal slid in from a slot on either side of his cheeks. With a soft, _clink_, the two pieces connected at the center of the robot's face. Now that his face shield was in place, Echo rocketed himself high into the air with jets of yellow energy that shot out from the bottom of his cylindrical legs.

"Whoa," Supergirl stretched the sound into two syllables, "he's fast."

Beacon smirked at the Girl of Steel as she simply replied. "Yes, yes he is."

"Let's go to work." Superman declared as he, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Beacon soared into the air after Echo. The Halfa was able to get a quick glimpse into the battle below. She noticed that every Leaguer was putting forth every ounce of effort into pushing the spiders back, and they were actually succeeding. Being told that there's a plan to end it all must have motivated them to keep pressing on.

Beacon jerked her head back to the front when she noticed a swarm of spiders jumping towards them. With Echo still taking point, the little robot raised his palms, and fired bursts of yellow plasma at the spiders, obliterating them. The others quickly followed suit; smashing the spiders with attacks of their own. The team was making progress, but Superman realized that the numbers were still overwhelming.

"Beacon, Supergirl." He called out. "Help me make an opening on ground."

Beacon and Supergirl turned their gaze downward and fired energy blasts and heat-vision respectively down at a spot that was swarmed with spiders. Superman did the same with his own heat-vision, and shortly after there was clear patch of ground for them to land on.

Superman and Wonder Woman smashed apart more spiders as they both landed on the ground, but almost immediately, they were both pounced on by a pair of attack-tigers. Wonder Woman braced her forearm underneath the tiger's jaw to keep it from biting her head off. Luckily she was saved when Supergirl severed the tiger in half with her heat-vision. The Amazon got back up to her feet and gave the blond Kryptonian a grin of thanks as she and Beacon landed next to her.

After Superman defeated his tiger by ripping its head off, he regrouped with the three women. They glared at the still advancing horde, which now consisted of both spiders _and _tigers alike. Both Kryptonians' eyes glowed red, and Beacon raised her arms in preparation for the inevitable. Although, before they could let their energy blasts fly, the frontmost portion of horde all suddenly and instantaneously exploded.

After looking in around confusion, the four of them turned their heads up to the sky and saw Echo floating there. A split second later, a slot in his back opened, and a barrage of minuscule missiles shot out. The missiles barreled downwards, leaving small traces through the air, and buried themselves into the faces of more spiders and tigers, resulting in another big, collective explosion.

"Thanks Echo." Beacon said appreciatively. "We'll handle things here. Get to the core."

"_Affirmative._" The robot's voice rang out despite the face shield over his mouth. He turned on his jets again and resumed his trajectory towards the vessel. The team on the ground watched him go, and then turned their focus back to the machines.

* * *

Once Echo reached the base of the vessel, his eyes glowed again as he scanned the massive construct. A few seconds later, the robot rose a few more feet into the air until he was above the vessel. Echo tilted his body downward, while still maintaining stable flight, and stretched his arms out. Then a brightly lit circle glowed in the center of his small torso. The light was becoming more and more intense, and then another singular orb of light began to emerge out of thin air a few inches in front of his body. The orb was slowly growing both in size and brightness as streaks of light worked their way into the orb. When the orb was about the diameter of a basketball, it turned into a solid beam of pure energy and shot towards the haul of the vessel at blazing speeds. The yellow energy beam breached the haul and bored a hole into the vessel as far as the eye could see. Now with the first phase of the plan complete, Echo made his descent and made his way towards the core.

* * *

Thanks to Echo's previous calculations, he was able to reach the chamber that housed the core in approximately twelve seconds. Moreover, the result of his energy blast had given him ample room to maneuver into the chamber. The little robot floated upright closer towards the… Dark Heart as Superman referred to earlier. The robot took a second to survey the area, and noticed the numerous tubes connecting the heart to every part of the vessel. Upon closer inspection, Echo noticed some sort of black, liquid substance flowing to and from the heart.

"_These tubes appear to be carrying liquefied organic matter to the core,_" he deduced as he opened his face shield, "_where it is then flowed through the vessel and eventually into more replicates._"

"What's your status?" Batman's voice came from his internal communicator.

"_I have successfully reached the core, and am now starting the reprogramming process. Stand by._" His eyes glowed again as he attempted gain access into the Dark Heart. Streams of data and lines of code were being transmitted back and forth until…  
"_Attempt failed._" He announced.

"Try again!" Batman barked.

"_I have made another attempt._" Echo answered. "_It yielded the same result_. _However, I have obtained the history regarding its creation. It copies the information across its duplicates."_

"What've you got?"

"_This vessel is a war machine…_"

"What was your first clue?" Batman asked sarcastically.

"_Approximately fifty-thousand years ago, there were two planets at war; the names of which are unstated, the builders of the original vessel launched their creation at a nearby planet._" Echo explained."_Where it followed its programming and consumed the entire planet. When said planet was destroyed, the vessel replicated, and headed towards the next planet, and the next. There is probable inquiry that this conflict was spread out into the far regions of that galaxy. However there appears to be a defect in this particular vessel's programming._"

"What are you saying?"

"_If the information I have is accurate; the war was concluded thousands of years ago. However this particular vessel neglected its shutdown protocols and continued with its original programming._"

The second he finished his sentenced, Echo's eye glowed again and he turned on his thrusters and rocketed to the side. He only managed to avoid the large metal tendrils as they slammed down hard at the exact spot he was just at. Echo canceled his thrusters and he landed on the floor, causing tiny sparks to fly across the floor as his skidded to a halt.

"What happened?!" Batman demanded.

"_I have encountered the vessel's internal defenses_." The robot replied. "_I will engage. Stand by_." The tendrils sparked with electricity as they shot forward to strike him again. Echo raised his right arm and from another slot in his forearm, he shot a single missile at the tendrils. The missile flew across the chamber and landed with a soft _tink_. Echo launched himself up and flipped over the vessel's defenses. The robot landed on his feet and slowly walked back to the Dark Heart, paying no attention to the explosion that occurred a mere second later.

* * *

The battle was beginning to get out of hand. The spiders and attack-tigers were replicating faster than the League could destroy them, and there was no end in sight. Beacon was doing the best she could to combat her fatigue, and like the rest of her fellow heroes; it was getting harder and harder to keep it up. She had since been separated from Wonder Woman and Superman, and was now on a patch of land with Supergirl.

"Agh!" the Blonde yelled as she ripped a spider in half, before proceeding to blast another with her heat-vision. "Have I told you how much I hate spiders?"

Beacon, who fought on the opposite end, brought the sole of her boot down hard on another spider, and then kicked it back into the horde. "You're practically invincible," The Halfa recounted as she got back to her fighting stance, "and spiders are what scares you?"

Supergirl looked over her shoulder and gave Beacon a look. "Hey, I said 'I hate them'," she corrected, "Not 'scared of them'." She whipped her head back just in time to see a tiger emerge from the horde and leap towards her. Luckily she managed to snatch it out of the air, and then slammed the machine onto the ground. With the tiger pinned, Supergirl quickly balled up her fist and smashed the tiger's head. Before she could completely catch her breath, the earth beneath her began to shake, and eventually began to crack. When the ground finally burst open, Supergirl found herself pinned to the ground as she gazed up at the gigantic spider above her. It raised one of its legs, ready to bury its point into her forehead. Before the spider had the chance though, Beacon fired an energy beam that went cleanly through the length of its entire body. The lifeless machine slumped over as the Halfa quickly ran over and lifted Supergirl to her feet. Unfortunately, now that both defenses had been breached, the horde of spiders began to march in on both sides. The two girls had little choice but to retreat into the air. Once at a safe enough altitude, Supergirl turned to Beacon.

"Y-you think… Echo has found a way t-to shut the core yet?" She panted.

"Yes." Beacon replied with fullest confidence. "He'll shut it down. We just have to hold out a bit longer." _Which is much easier said than done! _She finished in her mind.

* * *

A soft humming sound drew Echo's attention to a hatch that appeared to be opening, revealing what appeared to be a flickering red sphere. "_Ah, it appears I have located the vessel's power source._"

"Well, what are you waiting for? Destroy it! Ah!" Batman barked right before he was hit in the face by a spider.

Echo aimed both of his palms towards the heart of the core, and fired two solid beams of yellow energy. The beams struck the red flickering sphere, but it didn't appear to have sustained any damage. The robot decided to crank up the intensity; the pair of beams grew wider and continued to pummel against the heart. Soon after, the entire core began to shake; his beams were finally doing some damage. Wanting to still increase the pressure, he launched more missiles from his back and each one found its way into a tube; effectively severing the flow of 'nutrients' to the heart. The heart's shaking became increasely more violent. Sparks exploded and black liquid began to spurt out in all directions; both from the heart and from the surrounding walls. As the rushing liquid began to fill up the chamber, the heart had one last, massive spasm, before it went completely limp, and ceased all movement.

* * *

With a heavy grunt, Batman impaled a spider with an elongated batarang. The machine twitched as its legs gave out and it collapsed under its own weight. He retrieved his weapon as another spider made its way towards him, but suddenly the spider stopped in the middle of its tracks and toppled over. He looked away from the dead machine, and surveyed the scene. Throughout the entire battlefield; every spider, both large and small, as well as every attack-tiger ceased all motion, and flopped onto their sides. Then seemingly all at once, cries and cheers erupted throughout the landscape as every member of the Justice League celebrated their victory. The enemy was defeated, they had won the day.

Beacon and Supergirl flung themselves at each other in their own merriment of victory. This night had proven to be one of the hardest tasks they had to deal with in their career in the League. However with courage and a considerable amount of luck, they were alive. There's no doubt in either of their minds that they will be sore the next day, but they are alive nevertheless, and that's thanks in no small part to…to…

"Oh, man!" Beacon exclaimed as she broke off her hug with Supergirl. The Halfa hurriedly pressed her communicator and spoke. "Echo? _Echo_, are you there?!" When she got nothing but static for an answer, Beacon kicked off the ground, and soared straight for the vessel.

* * *

The once sinister looking Dark Heart now resembled a deflated water balloon. Black-colored liquid was squirting out of every nook and cranny, creating small streams that flowed down the walls of the mesa. Upon landing Beacon immediately made her way to the destroyed war machine. She was quickly followed by Supergirl, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The five heroes walked along the side of the vessel and began their search. _Where is he? _Beacon thought nervously. She activated her holographic interface, and scanned the massive, dead, hunk of metal, hoping that it would help her with her search. Shortly after there was beep on her small screen, and then she felt a something approaching them, but she was having difficulty pinpointing its exact location. She halted so she could figure where the presence was coming from, but the second she stopped, a wide stream of black liquid burst from the hull, startling the Halfa enough to make her jump backwards.

"Is that…?" Superman started.

Before he could finish, his question was already answered. When the stream finally slowed down, the small, familiar body of Echo emerged from the hole in the vessel and floated right in front of their eyes.

"_Mission accomplished._" He said.

Beacon breathed a huge sigh of relief, as she and her fellow Leaguers hurried to the little robot. "Echo!" she exclaimed again, a bright grin etched on her face. "You're okay…. And… you're all… covered… in gloop…" Her sentence slowed with every word as she stopped right before the miniature robot. His entire body was almost completely covered in the black liquid. Of which the excess was steadily dripping into the stream below.

Echo lowered his head and examined his body before turning back to Beacon. "_Affirmative, the Dark Heart used this mixture of liquefied matter as fuel for its core._" He stated. "_My scans have indicated that it consists of…_"

"No…" Beacon held up two hands as she cut the robot off. "Please, we don't need to know."

Echo stared at her with a blank expression, before answering with. "_Acknowledged._" Then his corporeal form disappeared, giving the illusion that the black liquid was floating in the air front of them unassisted, but before long the liquid fell downward, and joined with the rest of the stream.

* * *

When the rest of the League found out who destroyed the vessel, they were all gratified, as well as surprised; gratified because ultimately all their lives were saved, surprised because it was a robot the size of a toy that saved them.

With communications to the Watchtower still down, most of League spent their time cleaning up the battlefield. The Leaguers who had sustained serious injury during the fight were given care by other heroes with medical experience. Beacon was helping in the clean up by throwing a dead spider into a pile, but she wasn't exactly sure how they were going to dispose of them. Maybe they would just set them on fire, or have either Long Shadow or Atom Smasher squash them into smithereens or something.

The Halfa looked over to her right and saw Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman all conversing with each other. She couldn't tell what they were talking about, but when her eyes fell upon the Dark Knight, she felt a pang of guilt. Sure she was glad that he'd finally let Echo off the leash, but she didn't like forcing Batman into making that decision. Beacon threw one last spider onto the pile before telling Supergirl that she'd be right back, and heading towards the League's Big Three.

"Ah…Bats?" she asked. All three heroes turned to look at her curiously. "C-can I have a word with you?" she found herself unable to look into Batman's eyes as she nervously twiddled her fingers.

The three heroes exchanged looks with one another before Wonder Woman spoke up. "We'll give you two some privacy." With that, the Amazon and the Man of Steel walked away.

For a few seconds, Beacon and Batman remained silent as they stood before each other. One was trying to formulate what she was going to say while the other simply waited for the conversation to begin.

"I-I…" Beacon began slowly. Then she sighed, and forced herself to look into Batman's eyes. "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier… It was just… I've been really frustrated with how you'd been treating Echo lately and… and I guessing seeing you rejecting his offer to help was the last straw. And now I don't know if you're going to let him off the hook, or just leave him like he was before."

Batman just stared at her with eyes that could peer right into anyone's soul. Beacon was never sure what kind of response her apology would get, but nevertheless, she got one in return.

"It seems that I was… wrong." Batman replied rather slowly. Beacon was taken aback by this. Did _the _Batman just admit that his was…?"But then again," his words cut off her train of thought, "I'm only human."

The slight smirk on his face brought a grin to the Halfa's. Before they could say anything else however, the sound of helicopter blades flying overhead turned their attention to the sky. They landed and soldiers began piling out, Superman and Wonder Woman had rejoined the two shortly before they were approached by a tall, aged-looking man.

"Thank you, for all you've accomplished." said General Eiling. "Now we'll take it from here." With a wave of his hand, the solders and helicopter began the process of removing the dead robots and eventually, the Dark Heart itself. Their entire operation was completed in a matter of minutes, mostly due to the fact that the Justice League did most of the work for them.

As the military's helicopters carried the robots away, Superman approached the General. "I don't suppose you need any help destroying that. Wouldn't want that technology falling into the wrong hands."

"We could learn a lot from it." Eilling replied. "It almost beat the Justice League after all."

"Why would you need something to do that, General?" Wonder Woman asked coldly as she crossed her arms.

"Oh, I don't know," Eiling quipped with a hint of sarcasm, "maybe because it turns out that the Justice League has had a secret, space-based weapon of mass-destruction all along." He then narrowed his eyes at her. "And we're going to talking about that soon, believe me." He brought his hand up into a salute. "Ma'am." Then he turned, made his way to another helicopter, and left the scene. As the military flew away, the entire League gathered together, and watched the helicopters fly away.

"Wow…" commented Beacon, "we show him a weapon that wipes out everything in its path, and he wants to play with it." She turned to Superman. "I guess at the end of the day; we gotta be the ones who have to keep history from repeating itself."

Superman chuckled, before giving the Halfa a determined look. "Don't worry, if that day comes. We_ will _be there to stop it."

"_I may have something that would assist in the matter._"

Beacon and Superman turned around and saw Echo fly past them. The little robot stopped right in front of Batman, and held out his hand, in his small palm was an even smaller computer chip. "_I acquired this from the Dark Heart's core as it ruptured and before I was swept away by the current of liquefied matter._"

Batman looked from the chip to Echo's eyes for a few seconds, before slowly accepting the chip, and stowing it in his utility belt.

* * *

**Miami**

Rachel slumped onto her couch and breathed a heavy sigh. The battle in the Nevada desert had completely wiped her out; sure she had trained her body to endure any prolonged operation, but eventually fatigue catches up to everyone regardless. The Halfa had ditched her street clothes and was now dressed in a plain tank-top, and a pair of pajama shorts; something a lot more comfortable. Even though she had nearly no desire to report to the Watchtower tomorrow, Rachel knew that the fight between good and evil never stops, and she was obligated to show up for every round of that fight.

She turned and smiled when she saw Kara approaching her from the kitchen with two steaming mugs in her hands. The Kryptonian was also dressed for the occasion; a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. Rachel sat upright and accepted one of the mugs.

"Thanks, Kara." She said gratefully before taking a sip of hot cocoa.

"Sure thing." The blonde replied before sipping from her own mug. For a moment, the two girls sat in silence and just relaxed as they sipped on their drink.

"And listen," Rachel began as she held her mug with two hands and brought it down to her crossed legs, "thanks for being here with me. I-I don't know I could do this alone."

The Halfa watched her girlfriend look right into her eyes, and then saw a small smile etched across her face. "Of course," said Kara, "I'm always here for you."

Rachel also smiled as she leaned in, and gave Kara a gentle kiss. Then she took a deep breath and called out. "Echo?"

A few hours ago, after he gave Batman the Dark Heart's computer chip. The Dark Knight looked at Rachel and told her he was free to go with her. _However_, Batman warned Echo that if anything like his first two incidents on the Watchtower were to happen again, he would be place back on restriction. Both Rachel and Echo immediately promised the Dark Knight that it would never happen again.

True to his nature, the first thing the robot did was run a scan of the entire house. When he made his report to Rachel, he informed her while the house was structurally sound; it was vulnerable, lacked any sort of effective defenses, and ultimately… primitive. In response, Rachel gave a small laugh and simply told her friend that this universe is different than their own. Although she did give him access to her financial assets, just in case he wanted to beef up the house with some sort of security system.

A few seconds after being called, the miniature robot landed right front of them on top of the coffee table. "_Very well,_" He said plainly, "_shall I play the recording?_"

Rachel found herself taking a deep breath, before letting it out in a slow exhale. She knew watching Robin's last message to her was going to be painful nonetheless, might as well deal with it now so she could eventually get past it.

"…Yes…" she replied in a low voice. "Play recording."

* * *

Echo held out his hand in the manner he demonstrated earlier with in the desert. Although this time, the projection was an image of a young man. His short, brown hair was a shade darker than hers, and he had blue eyes instead of green. Looking past the color though, Rachel could see the sadness lying underneath.

For the first few seconds, Robin didn't speak, or make any sort of noise at all. He just sat there with his hand over his mouth, and his eyes were focused downward. He looked like he was in a complete loss for words. About ten seconds in the recording, Robin breathed a heavy sigh, and then Rachel heard her cousin's voice for the first time in over a year.

"…_Hey, Rachel…_" These words are so simple and dismissible, and yet the Halfa felt herself tensing nearly every muscle in her body. "_These past few days I've…I've thought a lot about everything we've done over the past ten years…_" Rachel noticed that Robin would occasionally force himself to look at the camera; clearly making this had been beyond difficult. He gave a light chuckle before continuing on. "…_it's funny now that I think about it; ten years, in the grand scheme of things… doesn't seem that long. But I think… I think life is measured by quality; the quality of the things you do, and who you do those things with… And in that case, we sure did a lot. All the adventures that we had, with Jonah, Echo, Ari, Dani, and the others, were the best times in my life, and I would not change one second of it._" Rachel felt herself panting slightly as her heart began to pound against her chest.

"…_But I think the best time out of all of those was our very first fight. Remember? We were stopping by the Dairy King's ice cream shop when a bunch of Guys in White showed up and tried to rob the place?_ "The memory came back to Rachel. It was a week after she got her powers, and they went out to celebrate, only to be rudely interrupted. "_Of course, we didn't know why they'd want to rob an ice cream shop, we just knew that they had to be stopped, and you…heh, heh, and you sprang forward and just about knocked out half of 'em. Then you tried to go after the boss's getaway plane, but you lost control of your powers, and you fell out of the sky… It was literally like a cartoon! You stopped in midair and hung there for a second. Then you started flailing your arms like a maniac and fell._"

Robin's snickers finally broke into full-filched laughter. Rachel couldn't help it either and found herself chuckling along. After a few seconds, Robin finally regained his composure. "_Ah… yeah, those were good times, not at the time, but nearly everything in funny in hindsight, right?"_

With the brief memory out of the way, Robin's face fell into a frown once more. "_And now… now it looks like we're gonna be in the toughest fight of our lives… Don't get me wrong though! All the training and experience we had, I think will definitely play a factor here, but even with all that, I'd be an idiot to think that we're not gonna lose people. We're just gonna have to do our jobs well enough to keep the casualties to a minimum._"

Robin looked away from the camera, and all of a sudden, his face looked extremely sad, and scared. It's like he didn't want to say what was next on his mind, but at the same time, realizing that he must. Rachel bit her lower lip; she could tell she was going to hate this next part.

"_And if the unthinkable happens to… to me, or even… any of us… If I..._" There. That was it, the cracked dam finally broke. Tears started to roll down from Rachel's eyes, and she felt her body began to shake. As the Halfa tried to keep what little composure she had left, she felt a pair of soft hands reach in, and take something away from her. Rachel turned and realized Kara had taken her mug of hot cocoa out of her hands, and set it down on a coaster on the coffee table. Then, her girlfriend brought her hand back, and interlocked their fingers.

"I don't want you to hurt yourself." The blonde told her softly.

With the slightest nod, Rachel turned back to the recording, which Echo paused when she had turned away, and was now resuming it. Robin's face still looked devastated, but he mustered the will to continue.

"_If anything happens to me, I want you to know that you're the best cousin anyone can wish for, and… and don't ever change_." Rachel squeezed hard on Kara's hand as her tears continued to pour out of her eyes. She felt herself stiffing and swallowing more frequently.

"…_and I know you don't want to hear this,_" Robin continued, "_but please don't dwell on the past. By all means, remember all the good times we had, but don't get consumed by the bad_." A low whimper came out of Rachel's mouth as her lip trembled. The recording of Robin sighed, and looking more closely, his eyes were also shiny with unshed tears, but he had been doing a better job of keeping them in than she had.

"_Remember, Rach, when times get though. Be strong. And even if I'm gone, Jonah, Echo, Ari, and everyone else will always be there for you. And I won't be far away either; I'll always be with you too. So remember to be strong… I love you._" He ended his sentence with a small, loving smile. Shortly after, he turned when he heard another voice come from off-screen.

"_Robin? C'mon! It's time to go._" The voice was her own, Rachel blinked as if as she'd heard it for the first time. Before she could continue her thoughts, Robin whipped back to the camera, and muttered.

"_End recording._"

* * *

The screen closed, and the beam of light fell back into Echo's palm. Silence hung in the air for what felt like hours. Then Rachel gave one more whimper, and started bawling. She hung her head and she squeezed her eyes shut. Horrible wretched noises came from her throat as the tears flowed in full. However between all of that, she did manage to mutter one thing.

"I love you too."

She was so distraught and consumed with her tears, she barely registered Kara's soft hand cupping her cheek, and pulling her head to her chest. "It's okay. It's okay." She whispered as she brushed Rachel's back with her other hand. Kara's own voice sounded shaky, as if she was also tittering on the edge of tears. "Let it out, Rach. Let it out."

Rachel exhaled a shuddering breath as she listened to Kara's heartbeat. It sounded fierce, and strong, and being in her embrace made her feel warm, and safe. Rachel wrapped her arms tightly around Kara's body, and poured out all of her emotions as she cried and cried.

* * *

**Alright! Another chapter in the books. That last part with Rachel's cousin's message took me quite awhile, and I hope you liked it, as well as the chapter as a whole.**

**Thank you for reading, and remember to review!**

**See y'all next time.**


	18. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own DC or DP... It is very, very, very, very unlikely that the two would ever belong to me!**

**I actually teared up when I wrote this chapter; the first time was the ending to the last chapter. But enough about me. **

**L****et's get on with it!**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 13

Small beams of light peered through Rachel's eyelids as she fluttered her eyes open. The lack of bed sheets immediately told her that she hadn't spent the night on her bed, but rather on the elegant sofa in her living room. She realized there was a presence pressed against the left side of her body, providing her with extra warmth, and a sense of comfort. Additionally, an arm was draped over her stomach, providing the Halfa with security. She barely had to turn her head to see her girlfriend, Kara, there on her side. The blond Kryptonian was still very much asleep. Rachel smiled brightly watched Kara with heavy-lidded eyes, while the blonde's warm and gentle breath tickled her face.

Slowly, Rachel gave Kara a tender kiss, pouring every ounce of reverence and gratitude she could muster into those full, red lips. A second after Rachel pulled away, Kara's lips perked out slightly; possibly desiring another kiss. The Halfa gave a soft chuckle at her girlfriend's subconscious reaction, and the sound of light sizzling penetrated her eardrums. The noise came from the kitchen and Rachel wanted to investigate, but she didn't want to wake Kara.

Slowly, Rachel made herself intangible, and then slid out of the sofa, and tiptoed her way across the hard wood floor and into the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Rachel's nostrils picked up on the aroma of frying eggs. There was also a hint of onion, and some cheese. Rachel approached the stove and saw Echo floating directly in front of it with his eyes fixed on the sizzling omelet on a frying pan. When she stopped at the bar table directly across of the stove, the little robot turned to look at her.

"_Good morning, Rachel." _He greeted in his usual voice.

"Shhh..." Rachel pressed a finger to her mouth, and then dropped her voice into a whisper. "Quiet, Kara's still asleep."

"_Ah, I see. I will adjust._" As he said it, Echo's voice began to steadily decrease, as if an invisible nob was being turned to lower his volume. _"Please, have a seat. The omelet will be ready in approximately two minutes._" The little robot turned his attention back to his cooking while Rachel took a seat on a four-legged stool.

"Thanks for making breakfast, by the way."

"_I am pleased to be of service._" Echo replied as he turned the stove off. He leisurely floated over to a cupboard and grabbed a plate. Then he lifted the pan and tilted it ever-so-slightly. The omelet slid off the pan and landed perfectly centered on the plate. "_Do you require any refreshments?_"

"Sure," Rachel answered with a warm smile, "but I can get them myself." After getting up, she opened the fridge and poured herself a glass of orange juice, before grabbing some silverware and digging into her breakfast. The taste was absolutely remarkable, and Rachel couldn't help but moan appreciatively.

"This is _delicious._ Thank you." She exclaimed softly.

A smile began to spread on Echo's metallic face. "_You are very welcome_," Then he turned his head to the side a split second before Rachel did, "_and good morning to you, Kara._"

"Morning," the Kryptonian muttered as she rubbed one eye.

"Hey, did I wake you?" Rachel asked in a slightly worried tone.

"No; the smell did."

"_With that said._" Echo said. "_What are your requests for your breakfast?_ _According to the inventory, there are: bacon, bagels, cereal, eggs, and pancakes._"

"I'll take some scrambled eggs and bacon." Kara requested as she took a seat next to Rachel. "Thank you." With a slight nod, Echo fired up the stove again and began making Kara's order.

"Kansas girl through and through, huh?" Rachel queried with a smirk.

"I guess so," Kara shrugged, smirking back, "especially if Ma Kent makes them."

"No argument there." said the Halfa. "Anyway, can I get you some coffee?"

Kara smiled and gave Rachel a peck on the lips. "Sure, that'd be lovely. Thank you."

After Echo had served Kara her food, the little robot turned to Rachel and told her that throughout the night he had taken a portion of her financial assets and invested them in several firms.

"_It would take time to completely determine if the investments were worthwhile._" Echo explained matter-of-factly. "_However, based on my calculations, the two firms that would yield the most profit are Queen Industries, and Wayne Enterprise._"

"Is that so? " Rachel quipped as she and Kara exchanged a look. "Well, that's good to know. Thanks"

"_You are welcome._"

Then, a loud beep sounded from a clock hung on the wall. When Rachel saw the time, she turned to Kara. "We should get going soon"

Kara nodded and got to her feet, but before she did anything else, she turned to Echo. "Thanks for breakfast by the way, it was wonderful." she said, then she and Rachel left the room to change into their costumes. A few minutes later, Rachel and Kara, now dressed as Beacon and Supergirl respectively, as well as Echo, gathered in the center of the living room. A split second later, the three of them were teleported to the Watchtower.

* * *

**Watchtower**

A worrying thought came to Supergirl as she and Beacon walked in the main hall of the League's Headquarters; Echo was floating next to them at head level. The Halfa was only about one night removed from watching a heartbreaking message from her deceased cousin, whom she'd never see again. Supergirl knew that pain she witnessed last night must still be in there somewhere, and didn't think her girlfriend should have to come to work if she was still in a grieving state.

"Hey, Rach?"

"Hm?" Beacon turned her head with a pleasant grin on her face.

"Are you still okay? Y'know; after last night?"

"Oh…" Beacon frowned as her gaze fell downward. The memory was returning to her, as well as the some of the hurt from last night.

"I'm fine…" She answered plainly, and when she saw the look on Supergirl's face, she quickly added. "…really."

"You sure?" Supergirl asked, still concerned. "It's just… I know how much you cousin meant to you, and I don't feel like you should come to work if you don't feel…"

"Kara." Beacon stopped in her tracks and placed a hand on Supergirl's shoulder. "Thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine, okay?"

Supergirl looked directly into Beacon's bright-blue eyes, before taking hold of her hand on her shoulder, and nodding. Beacon smiled at her as the three of them started to move again.

"So, while we're on the subject of cousins." The Halfa changed the topic. Supergirl frowned, fully knowing and not liking where this was going. "Shouldn't it be time you and Clark made up?"

Supergirl's shoulders fell at the question. She and Superman had had minimal contact since she came out to him in Metropolis all those months ago. She had tried to converse with her cousin on more than one occasion, but every single time, their conversations were filled with long periods of awkward silence, which not only made her feel more frustrated with her cousin, but also more alienated from him.

"I admit we should talk sooner rather than later," She confessed, "but shouldn't _he _be the one to come tell me he has no problem with us?"

"Well, maybe… If it were a perfect world." Beacon replied. They stopped again right before the automatic door that ran into the many hallways in the Watchtower. "But the way I see it, you two are family, and family members should be able to tell each other anything."

"I-I guess so…"

Beacon put a comforting hand on Supergirl's arm. "I think the next opportunity you get," she continued, "you should just put everything on the table; let him know that this was your decision, and this is how things are going to be." Beacon's eyes suddenly shifted when the door beside them slid open. Immediately they found themselves staring into the "S" shield that rested at the center of Superman's broad chest.

"Aaanndd looks like that opportunity is _right now_." Beacon realized before giving a nervous chuckle. Superman only raised his eyebrow in confusion as the Halfa pulled his cousin in front of her, who looked utterly embarrassed. "We'll just leave you two to it. C'mon, Echo."

"_Affirmative._" The little robot replied. With that he and Beacon quickly went down the hallway without another glance.

"_Rach! Echo!_" Supergirl called after them, but they'd already disappeared around the corner. She groaned before turning back to look up at Superman.

"So, um, what was that about?" the older cousin asked.

"She was just giving me some advice, for when-when I talk with you." Supergirl muttered. "Which just happens to be right now." She added under her breath.

"Oh?" Superman said. "So what do you want to talk to me about?"

_Is he serious?! _ Supergirl thought darkly. _Does he really not know?! _She breathed a sigh in an attempt to empty her mind of those thoughts.

"Last night, which you probably already know, I was with Rachel at her house."

"Yeah, I do know about that." Her cousin confirmed. "Ma said you were going to help her out with something."

"Yeah… I was. Last night she watched something… A message from her cousin… her _dead _cousin."

Superman was silent as he widened his eyes. Supergirl bit her lower lip nervously before continuing. "Needless to say, it was painful for her, and naturally I wanted to support her… But another thing is, it…it reminded me of what I lost too."

"Kara…"

"I lost everyone I loved back on Argo," Supergirl's breath was becoming shallow as shivers began to travel down her spine. "and-and… and after seeing what she went through, I-I don't want us to end up like that." She bit down on her lip again as her eyes grew hot from forming tears. She didn't mean for it to go this far, but all those months had taken their toll.

Before the tears fell however, Supergirl felt herself being embraced by Superman's massive arms, and then felt his hands on either of her shoulders. "I know, trust me, I know, and I'm sorry for being distant. But…"

"_But_?" Supergirl repeated in surprise. "But what, Clark?"

Superman took his eyes off his cousin, looking extremely uncomfortable. "It's-it's just…" He rubbed the back his neck and forced himself to look at her. "I-I need time to adjust."

"It's been months!" Supergirl exclaimed. "And frankly, it's been only you that seemed to have an issue with Rachel and me."

"I know!" Superman sighed. "It's just I've so been busy with the League and everything; I couldn't find the time to think things through."

"You _couldn't? _Or _wouldn't?_ "demanded Supergirl.

"That's not what I meant…I _have _thought about it. I…I just haven't come to a conclusion yet."

Supergirl glared at her cousin. "Well, until you figure it out, I'm letting you know that I'm going to live my life the way I want, _and_ with the people I want to be with." She jerked out of Superman's hands and made to leave, but before she got far, Superman caught hold of her wrist. She violently jerked back around and glared daggers at him.

"Kara, please." Superman begged softly. "I know you're angry, but I _am_ trying."

For the briefest moment, Supergirl's scowl loosened slightly. Although a split second later a voice called from overhead.

"Supergirl!" came Martian Manhunter's voice. "I have an assignment for you."

The blond Kryptonian turned her face back into a hard expression as she looked into Superman's eyes. "Duty calls." She said coolly as she wiggled out of his grasp. "I'll see you later, _Superman._"

With that abrupt end, she slowly floated away.

* * *

**Tower of Fate**

"ARGH!" grunted Aquaman as he knocked the small table across the room. The King of Altantis glared furiously at the woman sitting on the chair opposite him. For the past few hours, he and Shayera Hol, the former Hawkgirl and member of the Justice League, had been squaring off in a game of chess. Throughout the game, Aquaman had made attempts to get a rise out of Shayera in the hopes of breaking the Thanagarian out of her quiet demeanor. He even resorted to insulting her, though obviously he never meant any of it. However, when all of his efforts resulted in Shayera simply knocking over her king in surrender, Aquaman had had enough.

"You disgust me!" He jabbed with awful venom.

Shayera didn't even so much as blink at Aquaman's outburst. Instead, she steadily got to her feet, and looked right into his eyes.

"Join the club." Then she exited the room without another word.

Aquaman watched her go with a shake of his head. Then a voice from behind him made him turn around.

"I could have told you that wouldn't work." said Doctor Fate.

"She was once one of the fiercest warriors I'd ever met." Aquaman told the Lord of Order. "What's she doing here?"

"Trying to find her way." The Doctor replied. "Leaving the Justice League was difficult for her; I provided her sanctuary, a place to mediate on her life and future. We must allow her the time she needs to…" His speech trailed off as he pressed his fingers to his helmet for a moment. "Excuse me."

As Doctor Fate lifted into the air, a large purple ankh appeared from behind him and he vanished without a trace. Aquaman simply stood there looking confused, but then the chessboard, as well as the pieces and the table flew across his line of sight. He turned and saw that the board was set up again, and in Shayera's former seat was the golden android Amazo, who had been silently observing Aquaman and Shayera as they played their games.

_New game?_ The android telepathically asked the Atlantean.

* * *

**Watchtower**

It was with a sense of accomplishment that Beacon teleported back to the Watchtower. A few hours ago, a fire had erupted in a power plant in Russia. She, along with Captain Atom and Ice, were tasked with handling the situation. The Halfa and her team had admittedly worked like a well-oiled machine throughout the day. Ice had been in charge of putting out the fire itself, while Beacon focused her efforts into search and rescue, and Captain Atom worked on containing any potential radiation from leaking into the Russian city. Ice had no problem extinguishing the fire, but it took Captain Atom longer than expected to contain the radiation, but he was eventually able accomplish it nevertheless. On Beacon's end of the mission, the Halfa was able to evacuate the trapped plant workers in a swift and orderly fashion. It also brought a smile on her face when she saw the countless families reunited thanks to her efforts.

After filing her report, she parted ways from her fellow Leaguers. After spending a few minutes wandering the halls, Beacon found Supergirl looking out the window, and leaning her crossed arms against the railing. The Halfa felt her heart stir when she saw the deep frown on the blonde's face.

"Kara?" Beacon addressed softly when she caught up to her. Supergirl glanced at her, and then quickly turned back to the window, her expression unchanged. The Halfa pursed her lips when she figured out what must've been bothering her. "I'm guessing the talk with Clark didn't go so well."

Her girlfriend snorted lightly. "…Yeah…He says he's trying. But really it's the same stuff as all the other times."

Beacon sighed. After personally experiencing an extremely close bond with her own cousin, it broke her heart to see the two Kryptonians being so distant with each other. Although, she came to realize that not every relationship was the same.

"Kara, look… "Beacon took one of Supergirl's hands, and squeezed it. "I realize it's been hard for you and I'm sorry. And if Clark says he's trying, then maybe all you need to do is to have faith."

Supergirl looked into Beacon's eyes, and then gently returned the hand squeeze. "Yeah…maybe…" was all she managed to say.

Their tender moment was broken when J'onn's voice spoke from their communicators.

"_We have a new situation!_" said the Martian. "_Come to the control platform immediately._"

Without hesitation, the two girls ran back into the main hall and made their way to the control platform, where J'onn and Echo were waiting for them. Upon landing, the screens appeared above them showing a city being torn apart; buildings were reduced to rubble, cars and other vehicles that looked like scrap metal, and the countless people in sheer terror running for their lives.

"What've we got?" asked Beacon immediately.

"Ten minutes ago, we received a transmission from Doctor Fate." The Martian answered. "He told us that Solomon Grundy has escaped his tomb."

"_Additionally,_" Echo chimed in, "_two minutes and twenty-six seconds ago I detected a hostile presence located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We have confirmation that it is Solomon Grundy._"

"I'm sending you two in to handle the situation," J'onn said as he turned back to his monitor and began to type furiously, "Green Lantern and Vixen are already en route. The co-ordinates should allow you to rendezvous with them."

"Sounds good." Supergirl remarked. "C'mon, Rach." She hopped off the platform and floated down to the teleporter. Beacon quickly made to follow, with Echo right beside her.

"_I wish to accompany you,_" He explained.

"More the merrier, right?" The Halfa asked with a smile as she landed next to Supergirl. The machine roared to life as soon as the three of them took their spots on the teleporter, and a split second later, they were on their way back to Earth.

* * *

**Baton Rouge**

Once Green Lantern and Vixen, an African-American woman with the power to channel the traits of animals, had made their way into the city, it didn't take long for them to locate their target. Standing in the middle of the debris-littered street was the giant, bleach-white-skin form of Solomon Grundy; the zombie was about the width of a tall man, and almost twice as tall. He was wearing old and torn clothing that revealed the enormous muscles that lied underneath. The two Leaguers watched in awe as Grundy lifted the city bus above his head, completely ignoring the frightened people still onboard.

"Aw, man. Don't do it…" Lantern muttered under his breath. Grundy turned on the spot and heaved the bus high into the air. Lantern turned in the air right as the bus flew past him and continued its trajectory towards City Hall. He raised his hand and mustered his will as a large green hand emerged from his ring, and caught the vehicle in midair. After breathing a sigh of relief, Lantern gently lowered the bus back onto the road.

Meanwhile, Beacon, Supergirl, and Echo appeared in a flash of light. The Halfa immediately gasped when she felt a chill course throughout her body, and then a wisp of blue vapor escaped her mouth like a breath hitting the cold air. Beacon's Ghost Sense had become quite a rarity ever since she had departed from her home universe. Now whenever it went off, she had to remind herself to be extra careful.

The three of them took a moment to scan their surroundings, and then they rose into the air to join Green Lantern.

"Most of the civilians have been evacuated," He quickly briefed. "But we're gonna have to take Grundy down before he causes anymore damage."

"I'm on it." Supergirl exclaimed, and with a sudden burst of speed she shot down towards the street and aimed straight for the zombie.

Right as Grundy lifted another car, Vixen pressed her fingers on the amulet around her neck, and channeled the power of the elephant. Then she charged head-on towards Grundy right as Supergirl flew up beside her. Together the two women slammed into the zombie through the cab of the truck and then through the side of a building.

However as Grundy crashed through another side of the same building, he held both heroines by their wrists and then smashed against the ground. With another roar at their faces, he flung Vixen against a re-barred fence, instantly knocking her unconscious. Then he sent Supergirl flying onto of a car, where she bounced off the hood like a stone on water, and slammed flat on her back onto the road several hundred feet away.

With a groan, the Girl of Steel slowly propped herself up on her elbows. Her eyes had just regained their focus right as Grundy stood over her. Supergirl could only watch as the zombie raise his leg, poised to flatten her head like a pancake. Lucky for her though, at the last second three beams of blue, green, and yellow energy struck Grundy right in the back, making him roar with pain. In a blur, Supergirl felt Beacon's arms lifting her off the ground.

"You alright?" asked the Halfa as she placed the blonde down a few seconds later. She noticed there were small nicks and scratches all over Supergirl's body, and there were already rips and tears on her costume.

"I will be." Supergirl answered. She winced as she tried to steady herself. "The thing is that hurt, that _really _hurt."

Beacon raised a curious eyebrow, prompting Supergirl to elaborate. "The only things that can really hurt me are Kryptonite, another Kryptonian, or magic…"

"So you're saying he's giving off magical energy." Beacon deduced. Supergirl nodded and they both turned back to look at Grundy, who was still being pelted with Echo and Lantern's energy blasts. "Well, regardless. He needs to be stopped!"

* * *

While her fellow Leaguers were busy with Grundy, Vixen felt herself ease back into consciousness as the sounds of explosions penetrated her ears. She took a moment to examine her body; she was badly bruised, her costume was torn, and the sharp pain she felt in her arm told her it was broken. Taking a deep breath, she tapped her necklace again, channeling the lizard's regenerative abilities. Vixen winced sharply at the sickening pops as the bones in her arms snapped back into place.

After flexing her arm a few times to regain feeling in it, Vixen heard a loud, booming sound course through the air. She whipped her head and saw her teammates were sent flying in separate directions. Vixen's eyes instantly locked onto Green Lantern, who was knocked out and didn't have his usual green glow, which meant that there was nothing to protect him from his fall!

Quickly summoning her cheetah powers again, Vixen bolted towards the falling man, she narrowly avoided Grundy's grasp as she skidded across the road and caught Lantern in her arms.

"John!" She cried out as she gently laid him on the ground. The man didn't even stir as she heard large footsteps approaching from behind her. She got back to her feet and scowled at the zombie. "Come with it then!" She flexed her razor-sharp claws, ready to face her opponent.

Just as Grundy roared and charged at her, Superman appeared at blazing speeds and smashed his fist squarely onto the zombie's jaw. As the zombie was sent flying through a line of cars, the Man of Steel turned to Vixen.

"Get the Lantern somewhere safe."

"I could've handled him." Vixen argued. Superman turned his head around and stared into the fireball that roared in a building at the end of the street.

"You may get your chance." He stated. "In the meantime, humor me." As Grundy approached, Vixen carried Lantern away as Beacon, Supergirl, and Echo caught up with him.

"Come on, Grundy. We've been through this before." Superman tried reasoning with him. "You don't have a chance against me, let's talk it over, maybe I can help."

"Um, personally? I don't think that's gonna work." Supergirl doubted.

"_Solomon Grundy's behavior has indicated that he is unlikely willing to hold a conversation._" Echo added.

Superman narrowed his eyes as Grundy stopped right in front of him. With a roar the zombie cupped his fists together and slammed them down hard at the heroes. Fortunately they were fast enough to avoid his attack. Superman rushed forward and aimed another punch at Grundy's face. What he never expected though, was that Grundy was actually to halt his attack. The zombie didn't even flinch as he held onto Superman's fist.

Slowly, Grundy began to tight his grip; making the bones in Superman's hand crack under pressure. The Man of Steel grunted in pain and sunk to his knee as he and Grundy locked eyes for a moment. Then from out of nowhere two bolts of energy shot right into the zombie's eyes. Instinctively Grundy yelled in agony and let go of Superman. As Grundy rubbed his eyes, Beacon flew forward, flipped while mid-flight, and planted the soles of her boots right on Grundy's face, making him stumble backwards. Then with Supergirl's help, they each grabbed hold of the zombie and flung him further down the street, where he then crashed into a building.

Superman got back to his feet, clutching his wrist as he shook the pain out of his right hand. Clearly there was something more going on here. The number of people who could actually catch his hand was very, _very _few, and Grundy should not be on that list.

"I told you that wouldn't work." jabbed Supergirl as she and Beacon regrouped with her cousin.

Superman turned to face his relative, the look on her face told him that she was still upset at him, and honestly he couldn't blame her, but right now they have more important matters to attend to.

"Well, it was worth a shot." He countered. "Now we're gonna have to come up with a plan if we want to end this."

Beacon nodded in understanding and turned to Echo. "Did your scans pick anything?"

"_The creature appears to be emitting magical as well as undead energy._" Echo informed with his face shield over his mouth that meant he was still in battle mode,"_In order to shift the battle into our favor perhaps it would be wise to bring in a Leaguer that specializes in one of those two fields._"

"Well, we have you two." Supergirl gestured to the robot and Halfa. "So we're good, right?"

Beacon's lips pressed into a hard line. "It would be if Grundy was a ghost." She said matter-of-factly.

Both Kryptonians blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?" asked Supergirl, "He's a zombie! Aren't they practically the same thing?"

"_Negative._" Echo stated. "_Ghosts are the embodiment of a spirit that lingers on the physical plane. Zombies are merely reanimations of deceased corpses._"

"Thanks for the lesson," said Superman, "but we got incoming."

They heard a roar behind them and saw Grundy sprinting towards them. Beacon narrowed her eyes in concentration and fired an energy blast straight at the rampaging zombie. Grundy skidded backwards a few yards as the beam struck him squarely in the chest, but before he could recover Superman had already rushed forward and delivered a barrage of fists onto Grundy's body and face. With another roar, the creature swung blindly and caught Superman in the back, hurtling him through a store window. Supergirl was next up to bat; she collided with him fists-first and knocked him further back. Although instead of being on his rear-end, Grundy grabbed her by the leg and smashed her onto the side of a building. Then he brought her down hard face-first onto the ground, instantly rendering the Girl of Steel unconscious, as he poised to smash Supergirl to the ground again, Beacon's angered voiced came from behind him.

"Let her go! _Now!_" The Halfa was barreling towards him at Mach speed, but the zombie remained unfazed and just hurled Supergirl towards her. Beacon only had time to gasp when Supergirl's body collided painfully with her, sending them both flying uncontrollably through the air. The Halfa turned her head behind her and noticed the wall of a building looming closer. Without much thought, she held on tight to Supergirl and turned intangible. Her contact with the blond Kryptonian meant that she turned intangible as well. Together the two girls phased through the entire length of the building, and crashed back onto the ground a few seconds later.

"Ugh…" Supergirl moaned as her eyes fluttered open. "Rach?" Then she felt an unbearable chill in her body, and she began to shiver. "I-I'm s-so cold!"

"Sorry." Beacon said quickly. "But trust me, it was better that the alternative."

* * *

For a moment, Grundy simply growled as he stood on the spot, waiting for the next attack. He whipped his head to his right just as a swarm of small missiles exploded on his body, stunning the zombie. With a burst from his jets, Echo shot forward and shot at Grundy with more energy blasts from his hands. Grundy yelled and writhed as he tried to swat at the miniature robot, but he was too slow to keep up with his movements, and before long Echo managed to land a kick on the zombie's chin with his cylinder-shaped leg. With a roar, Grundy clapped his enormous hands together, and created a sonic wave that kicked up a large dust cloud and managed to force Echo back. The robot landed back onto the road and skidded for a few feet, he never took his eyes off Grundy as he clamped his fingers down on the concrete to bring himself to a halt.

Grundy emerged from the dust cloud and continued his march towards Echo who, with a simple raise of his arm, shot a thin, metal wire out of his wrist. The wire traveled down the street and clamped onto Grundy's chest. A split second later, the zombie roared in agony as surges of electricity coursed through his body, illuminating a decent part of the street. However things took a turn when Grundy managed to grab hold of the wire, and then yanked it over his head. The resulting physics sent Echo tumbling high through the air.

As the zombie shook his head in an attempt to recover from the effects of Echo's electric attack, in a loud whoosh Superman flew in and smacked his fist onto Grundy's face before immediately following with an uppercut that sent him high into the air. When Grundy finally stalled, a large green bubble appeared and encased his entire body. A few yards away, Green Lantern whipped his right armed back and then swung down hard, sending the bubbled holding Grundy rapidly towards the ground.

The construct disappeared mere inches before making contact with the ground, allowing Grundy to receive the full brunt of damage from the impact. Superman and Green Lantern regrouped as they approached the crater in the middle of the intersection.

"How're you holding up?" asked Superman.

"Fine." Lantern replied plainly. "Better than Grundy's going to be anyway." As the two Leaguers reached the foot of the crater, they heard Grundy roar as he leaped into the air with his fists poised to strike again.

"Ready to put your money where your mouth is?" Superman quipped.

Green Lantern didn't respond as he aimed his ring and fired away at the incoming monster. He flew off to the side to avoid Grundy's smash, and began to encircle him as he riddled the zombie with green, will-powered bullets. While Lantern attacked him in the air, Superman charged in on foot and landed a few hits onto Grundy's massive body, but with the way the night has been so far, Grundy retaliated with a hard punch of his own. The blow sent the Man of Steel flying into the base of a building; the resulting shockwave from the impact caused the building to become unstable. Cracks began to appear all over the walls as the entire structure began to fall about. The few civilians still inside were now screaming and crying in fear. Luckily for them, Beacon and Vixen appeared just in the nick of time.

Green Lantern was still blasting away at Grundy with his ring, but the zombie didn't seem to be affected by his attacks in the slightest. What the zombie did do however was clap his hands together again. The shockwave sent Lantern flying through the air, not to mention shattering the windows of nearly every building along the city street.

Superman managed to lift the boulder of his body, and flew towards Grundy again, but the zombie grabbed two cars and used them to smash Superman. When he pulled the cars away, Superman was left groggy on his feet, until Grundy swung at him with his massive fists that sent him hurtling into the supports of a suspension bridge that passed over the bay. With two of its supports gone, the bridge began to sway violently, and the suspension cables were snapping from the strain.

* * *

As the bridge was teetering on the verge of collapse, bubbles of air began to rise from the depths of the water beneath. Slowly, Aquaman breached the surface; under his feet was an octopus of mythical proportions. Following the King of Atlantis' mental commands, the sea creature wrapped its giant tentacles around the bridge's broken supports and held them back in place. Without a second's delay, Supergirl, who had recovered enough to rejoin the fight, flew up to the supports and used her heat-vision to reattach the severed halves.

Unfortunately amongst the chaos, one car had crashed through the concrete barrier and began to plummet towards the water. As the mother and daughter screamed in terror, the winged-form of Shayera Hol flew over, tore open the roof of the car with her spiked-mace, and pulled them to safety. After they landed on a nearby bank, Shayera watched the mother and daughter share a hug, and then run off. The Thanagarian turned on the spot and prepared to take off again, but she stopped when she found herself staring into the eyes of the Green Lantern.

"Shayera?" he asked, completely bemused.

She gave the man a hard look; his costume was torn in places and there were several cuts and bruised on his body. Although aside from all that, one feature did stick out to her.

"Hate the beard." She commented plainly.

Then they both turned in unison as Superman climbed his way out of the water. The Man of Steel also showed signs of light injury, and on top of all that; he was soaked to the skin.

"You okay?" asked Lantern.

Superman narrowed his eyes at him. "Do I _look _okay?"

Shortly afterwards, Beacon, Echo, Supergirl, and Vixen regrouped with them.

"Shayera?" Beacon asked. "Wow, fancy seeing you here. I-I guess."

The wing-woman smiled, "It's good to see you too, Rachel. Also glad to see you've been doing well this past year."

"Okay, uh, I hate to interrupt this supposed reunion," Vixen chimed in. "but how are we gonna stop that rampaging zombie on the loose?"

"Perhaps we could be of assistance," The voice of Doctor Fate rang out as he appeared before them, quickly followed by Aquaman and Amazo.

"And Amazo _too_?" exclaimed Beacon with wide eyes. "Wow, lots of reappearances tonight. How've you been by the way?"

The android eyed the Halfa for a moment. Several months ago, he and Beacon had a little "heart-to-heart" on a faraway planet. She had been the only one besides Doctor Fate and Aquaman that had actually reached out to him. Amazo actually consider to her to be his…friend.

_I have been well, and now I wish to aid you against this threat._

"Oh, hey, by the way," The Halfa turned to the other, much smaller robot in the group. "Echo, this is Amazo. Amazo, Echo. He's the one that reminded me of you."

Echo's gaze met with Amazo's as he floated up to the Android's face. For a brief moment neither of them moved. Then his telepathic words spoke inside each of the organic Leaguer's heads.

_You are… much smaller… than I envisioned._

"_That is remarkable considering your lack of information on my physical appearance."_ Echo replied. "_I am interested to know how you achieved that conclusion_."

Amazo tilted his head slightly. _You have interests?_

"_Affirmative, and they have been effective uses for my time._"

"Sorry, but why don't you two save this for later?" Superman cut in. "We still have Grundy to deal with."

Echo turned to the Man of Steel. "_You are correct. I apologize for the delay._"

Superman nodded, "Okay, let's throw a wave of our big guns at him: me, Fate, Beacon, Supergirl and the android." He lowered his voice at he leaned closer to Fate. "We let him out of the tower now?"

"I was curious to see if you would try to dissuade him." Fate answered.

"Hold up." Everyone turned to Shayera, who had a firm look on her face. "Before Golden Boy teleports him into the sun, I want to try talking to him." With that, she spread her wings and took off back towards the city.

"Shayera! Wait…" Green Lantern yelled after her, but she had already flown too far to hear him.

* * *

Shayera followed the path of destruction until her eyes honed in on Grundy. For reasons unknown to the Thanagarian, the creature was using all of his strength to push an entire building off of its foundation.

"Grundy!" she called out. Grundy turned towards her, glaring at her with blank eyes. "It's me," She stepped closer and bravely put a hand on Grundy's arm, "remember, Bird-Nose?" she grinned a little at their inside joke.

However Grundy didn't seem to recognize her, instead the zombie grabbed Shayera and slammed her into a wall. Completely stunned, she could only watch as Grundy lifted a massive fist and prepared to crush her, but just then, his arm was impaled by a hook attached to a cable. Grundy whipped his head around and growled at Aquaman who was trying to control him.

"Back!" He yelled, pulling hard on the cable. The force made the zombie stumble a bit, but he quickly regained his balance and yanked hard on the cable. Aquaman was sent flying of his feet and right into Grundy's waiting fist.

As the King of Atlantis plopped to the ground, Doctor Fate flew in and blasted the zombie with bolts of mystical energy. Green Lantern also joined in, firing a solid beam of energy at him. Grundy grunted in pain right as Superman and Supergirl both rushed in and punched him on either side of his face, knocking him back a few steps. Then Beacon flew in after the two and kicked Grundy in the side of his head, making him stumble sideways.

"What's happened to him?" Shayera asked as she got back to his feet.

"I'm sorry," replied Doctor Fate, "the chaotic magic that animates him is suppressing me from sensing any trace of the Grundy we know."

_Then it is time I brought this to an end._

Amazo landed next to the Doctor and raised his hand; which was immediately surrounded by a golden energy. Shayera widened her eyes and jumped in front of the android.

"No!" She protested. "Don't hurt him!"

Amazo simply pushed her aside with his telekinesis, and then blasted Grundy with his power. The other Leaguers retreated a few yards to avoid being hit.

_In my travels through space, I've attained mastery of forces all but incomprehensible to humans._

Floating directly next to his head, Echo's eyes glowed as he analyzed the effect of Amazo's attack. A second later, he turned to the android. "_Amazo, I highly recommend you cease at once_." Some of the heroes that were listening in eyed the little robot in confusion, but Amazo just kept his eyes on Grundy.

_Do not be alarmed. I am fully capable to… wait._

Although initially being brought to his knees, Grundy let out a vicious roar and rose to his feet.

_Something's wrong; the creature is somehow feeding on my energies! He adds my power to his own!_

Amazo let out a telepathic cry as he fell back, only to be helped back to his feet by Echo and Doctor Fate.

_I should have heeded your warning. _The android told Echo before turning to the others. _My presence here puts you all at risk; I will retreat several light-years' distance until I can determine how to counter this effect._

In a flash of golden light, Amazo disappeared, leaving only a small smoke trail behind. The heroes stared at the smoke for a moment, and then charged at Grundy. Superman delivered several punches to the zombie, only to be knocked aside by Grundy's fist. Echo flew right past his eyes and shot a pair of energy beams straight into Grundy's face before quickly flying out of the way. Aquaman quickly took advantage and slashed Grundy's back with his hook.

"Tell us something, Doc." Green Lantern approached him.

"Grundy was revived with chaos magic," Fate explained, "accumulative with no known upper limit. My magics are as useless as Amazo's technology."

"Then I say we take him out the old-fashioned way." Vixen firmly declared. She ran to an enormous statue and, flexing her animal strength and claws, began to tear large gouges out of the stone. Realizing what she was doing, Aquaman kicked Grundy closer towards the statue. When he stopped stumbling, a pair of hands reached out from underneath the ground, and turned the zombie intangible. Beacon then pulled the zombie down into the solid concrete until only his shoulders and head was above the surface. As Grundy struggled to break free, Supergirl pushed the statue with her hands, where a second later it plummeted right on top of the zombie's head.

Things were quiet as Beacon phased through the rubble while Vixen hopped on top of the pile with a triumphant grin on her face. However Superman didn't share her feelings of success.

"No way it's this easy." He said darkly.

"Sure it is." Vixen countered. "The android half-fried him with the cosmic thing; all we had to do was seal the dea-agh!" She was cut off when Grundy emerged from the rubble, grabbing Vixen by her throat and ankle.

Green Lantern fired an enormous blast of energy from his cannons. "Put her down!" He commanded.

"You heard the man!" Shayera yelled as she wound her mace back and swung it into Grundy's side. The zombie let out a sharp yell of pain, and sunk to his knees. Superman slammed into Grundy, making him lose his grip on Vixen. Green Lantern caught her with his ring and laid her down gently.

As Grundy crashed onto the ground, Shayera approached him, her grip tight on her mace.

"Don't make me do this, Grundy!" she pleaded.

Grundy only stared blankly at her as he panted. He roared and rushed in again. Shayera proved to be quicker than him and slammed her mace into his back. The zombie once again roared in pain, but continued his relentless attack. However, over and over again, Shayera would hit him with her mace, making Grundy yell out in pain. Finally, Shayera took to the air, and brought her mace down as hard as she could onto Grundy's head, sending him crashing through the street and into the sewage below.

* * *

The other heroes crowded around the large hole Shayera had just created; Lantern swung a light generated from his ring.

"I don't see him." He told the others.

"Neither do I." said Superman. "There must be lead in those old sewer pipes."

"_He is currently three hundred below us._" Echo announced. "_Additionally, his energy signature has significantly weakened."_

"Which means now is the perfect time to finish this." Supergirl declared.

"Well, I think all we need is for Pretty-Polly here to bash him with her magic mace." suggest Vixen.

"Why does it hurt him?" asked Shayera as she looked at her mace curiously.

"It's made of Nth-metal," explained Doctor Fate, "your people's technology was developed specifically to repel magical creatures; it disrupts the magic that animates him. The creature knows only rage and seeks only oblivion; your mace maybe the one object on Earth that may grant him peace."

There was silence amongst the heroes as the Doctor's words sunk in, then Green Lantern spoke up.

"What are you saying?"

"Your favorite movie's _Old Yeller, _you know exactly what he's saying." Shayera said in a sad tone. "Is this my destiny? To be a destroyer? To betray yet another friend?"

"It's not that simple," Fate answered, "It never was."

"Only you have the power to put that creature out of its misery," said Aquaman as he approached Shayera, "to stop it before it hurts anyone else."

Shayera bit her lower lip as her eyes drifted to the side. She still wasn't sure if she could be up to the task.

"_Correction, there is alternative solution_." Echo's voice made everyone turn to him.

Before anymore question could be asked, Echo floated up to Beacon and looked her straight in the eye. "_If Doctor Fate's first statement is correct; you also possess what is necessary to put an end to Solomon Grundy's suffering._"

The Halfa blinked several times in confusion. "W-What? I-I don't…" Before she could finish, Echo stretched out his hands; bright sparkles began to shimmer in the air and then culminated into a shape. With a quick flash of light, a small, white object appeared in the air just above the little robot's hands. It had the shape of a sweet potato, but the series of small holes on the shiny surface and the tube protruding from the top made it clear that it was hollow. All the other heroes looked at it with puzzlement and curiosity, while Beacon shook her head slightly in disbelief.

"This whole time I thought I lost it."

"_Since you crossed the dimensional plane, it was not able to maintain its connection with you._" Echo explained, but hardly anyone except Beacon knew what he meant. "_Therefore it chose to remain with me for the time being. However now I believe it is ready to become of use again, if you wish._"

Slowly, Beacon reached out and closed her fingers around the object. After examining it for another second, she turned to Doctor Fate. "Are you sure that he just wants all of it to end?"

"Yes, all his seeks is his own destruction," replied the Doctor, "but I must ask: How is an ocarina supposed to grant his peace?"

"I'm going to play it for him." Was Beacon's simple reply.

"Like what? Like a lullaby?" asked Vixen. Beacon nodded. "How is it gonna- you know what? It doesn't matter; you better do it before he gets away."

Beacon nodded again and was about to jump into the hole when Supergirl reached out and caught hold of her wrist. "Rach, wait. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"She's right." agreed Shayera. "You don't have to do this. Grundy's my friend. I'll do it."

The Halfa looked between her girlfriend and the Thanagarian for a moment before giving them both a grin. "It's okay; this is actually a much less violent way from him to go, but if you want to come along Shayera, you're more than welcome."

"I'll come." She nodded immediately. "I want to be there with him when it happens."

Supergirl on the other hand, tightened her grip on Beacon's wrist, still not wanting her to go. "Kara, I'll be fine." She said giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "_Trust me_."

Supergirl's lip pressed into a hard line as she and Beacon's eyes locked onto each other. Then slowly, the blonde loosened her grip. Beacon leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek, before turning back to Shayera. "Ready?"

After another nod, the two jumped into the hole.

* * *

Beacon and Shayera spent several minutes walking in ankle-deep sewage; Shayera was illuminating their path with her mace.

"So… You and Supergirl are…" she began slowly.

"Dating? Yeah." Beacon quickly finished for her.

"Oh. Well that's interesting. I had no idea you were…"

"Shayera," the Halfa cut off again as she gave the older woman a serious look, "not right now."

"Right…sorry." In truth, the Thanargian was disciplined enough to know that there was a time and place for everything, but curiosity got the better of her. As they walked deeper into the sewers, they could hear a faint, growling sound. Quickening their pace, they turned the corner and found Solomon Grundy. He was slumped against the wall and panting heavily. For the first time, he didn't look like a menace at all, he just looked… exhausted.

Grundy's blank eyes found the two women, and he started to show signs of aggression, but it was quickly diminished.

"Shh, it's okay." Shayera gently whispered. She kneeled beside Grundy, and cupped his cheek. "I'm here, and I have a friend, she's going to help you."

Grundy looked up at Beacon and she gave him a gentle smile. "It's okay, Grundy." She reassured softly. "It'll be over soon."

The zombie's breath seemed to be steadying as he understood her intentions. Noticing this, Shayera turned to Beacon and nodded once more.

Beacon returned the nod. She brought the ocarina horizontally up to her lips, and positioned her fingers over the small holes as she placed her mouth on the mouthpiece. Then slowly, she exhaled into the tube, and began to play.

* * *

The ocarina emitted a soothing pitch that resonated thoughout the curved walls of the sewers. Shayera stared Rachel as she played the instrument with her eyes closed; the Halfa looked completely immersed in what she was doing. Shayera was completely mesmerized by the sounds that were being produced by the small wind instrument, she had never heard of something so beautiful in her life. Grundy's breath had finally calmed and his muscles began to relax. Encouraged by this, Shayera reached out and gave a gentle squeeze to his massive hand.

Grundy's eyes began to droop and Shayera found herself smiling at the sight of it, but then something happened that completely caught her by surprise. Slowly, a small ball of light drifted off of the zombie's shoulder. A second ball of light then came off his head. They were closely followed by a third, fourth, fifth, until eventually the balls became too great in number for Shayera to count. She had to blink and shake her head several times to make sure she wasn't seeing things, but regardless of what she did, the balls of light continued to float up from Grundy's body and rose out of the sewer. As Beacon continued to play the melody, his form slowly began to fade away.

Thanagarians weren't known for being in touch with their spiritual selves. However, now as Shayera watched the balls of light float out of the sewers and into the moonlit sky, she was beginning to think that maybe there was a paradise somewhere, and that's where Grundy was headed.

A peaceful smile came to the zombie's lips as more and more of his body faded. Then, a white glow began to envelop his figure. Grundy beamed at Shayera with his half-closed eyes. She smiled and nodded in understanding.

"Go, Grundy..." She whispered as her tears flowed down her cheeks, "Your soul is waiting for you…_Go…_"

As his eyes fluttered shut, soft words escaped Grundy's mouth. "_…Bird…Nose…_"

Then, in a flash of light, Solomon Grundy was gone.

* * *

Beacon stopped playing her song. She opened her eyes to find her vision had been blurred by tears. She slackened her grip on the ocarina and instantly the instrument vanished in a shimmer of bright sparkles. The Halfa noticed Shayera was still kneeling near the spot where Grundy had just been. The older woman was hugging her arms as she silently sobbed. Beacon wanted to go comfort the grieving woman, but the second she tried to take a step, her legs gave out and the Halfa plopped down on her hands and knees.

"Rachel!" Shayera instantly got up and pulled the young girl back to her feet. She draped Beacon's arm over her shoulder to offer her support. The Halfa clutched her forehead and was working hard to regain her breath. "You alright?"

"Ye-yeah…" Beacon replied between pants. "I just…I haven't used it in so long, I… I forgot how much it took out of me."

Shayera pursed her lips. "Well, in any case, we should head back; we wouldn't want the others to worry."

"Yeah…"Beacon agreed weakly after a chuckle, the thought of Kara's concerned face instantly popped into her head. "You're right."

Slowly, with Beacon still leaning onto Shayera for support, the two women made their way back.

* * *

**Streets of Baton Rouge**

"Uh…Echo?" Supergirl began with a hint of fear. "What's happening?"

Thanks to both Superman and Supergirl's super-sense, they were able to hear, albeit faintly, the music coming from deep below their feet. While the others were curious about what they were hearing, the two cousins' only explanation was, "Beacon is playing for Grundy." However they had no explanation for what came next. Floating up from the ground near them were numerous balls of light that rose into the air, and were carried off by the wind like dandelion seeds. Naturally, the heroes were completely confused by this and turned to the little robot for clarification.

Echo's narrow eyes were still firmly locked on the balls of light that were drifting higher and further away. Furthermore when he spoke, his words weren't directed at the others. "_Farewell, Solomon Grundy._" The other heroes, save for Doctor Fate and Aquaman, all looked amongst each other in bewilderment.

"What are you talking about?" Green Lantern asked. "You mean to tell me _that,_" He pointed to the balls of light, "is Grundy?!"

"Yes," answered Doctor Fate, "it appears that Beacon's ocarina not only released Grundy from the magic that animated him, but also released him into the next world."

The Sorcerer Supreme silently bowed his head. Aquaman followed suit and held his arm across his broad chest. Slowly one by one, the heroes stood rooted to the spot with their heads lowered as they gave a moment of silence for the former zombie. When they rose their heads again, they caught the very last ball of light vanish behind a cloud, meaning that Grundy was truly gone.

Now, they had another thing to worry about. "But why haven't they come back up yet?" Supergirl demanded.

Superman stepped forward. "She's got a point. I'm going in after 'em."

Just before he jumped in, he caught sight of Shayera flying up out of the hole, upon closer inspection, she seemed to be supporting Beacon. The two landed a few feet away and the other heroes rushed to them.

When Supergirl saw how pale and exhausted Beacon looked, her heart dropped to her stomach. "What happened? Are you okay?" These words blasted out of her mouth faster than a speeding bullet.

Beacon had to say Supergirl's name several times before she would stop babbling. "I'm fine, really! I'm just feeling a little light-headed that's all."

Supergirl rushed forward and pulled the Halfa into her arms; the heck with professionalism, "Just don't scare me like that, okay?!"

Beacon could feel Supergirl's body tremble against her own; she was _really _worried. Slowly, she put her hands onto her girlfriend's back as she whispered, "_Sorry…_"

"Beacon…" Superman's voice made her turn towards him. "Sorry to put you on the spot, but we're all wondering if you could tell us more about that instrument of yours." Several of the other heroes nodded in agreement.

"Sure," The Halfa complied with a weak smile, "but I'm still feeling tapped out. Echo… could you do me a favor and explain it for me?"

"_Affirmative, I will gladly be of assistance._" Echo answered, his face shield separated into two parts and they both slid back into his cheeks. "However, first: may I?" He extended his hands, and Beacon nodded in understanding. She held out her own and in another shimmer, the ocarina reappeared out of thin air. Echo took the instrument and held it out for everyone to see.

"_This instrument is known as the 'Ocarina Emotica'_." He explained. "_In its current state it will emit a series of tones that are normally associated with any other ocarina._"

"Then how was Beacon able to release Solomon Grundy from the chaos magic?" asked Doctor Fate.

"_In order to access the Ocarina's power; the user is required to channel his or her energy while playing the instrument._" The little robot answered. "_Then it separates the receiver from its spiritual energy. Thus, releasing the receiver from its corporeal form._"

"And I think it's safe to say that it takes a lot out of the user." Shayera theorized.

"_Correct. While there are variations on the specific amount based on different situations; the energy required is still significant._"

"So, if you have something that can banish evil spirits," Vixen changed the subject as she looked at Beacon. "You must be the world's best exorcist."

The Halfa gave the animal-themed heroine a hard look. "It doesn't work that way."

"What do you mean?"

"_The Ocarina does not take the good or evil into account._" Echo elaborated. "_Rather it also requires consent from both parties involved. Furthermore, the process takes time, and as previously mentioned; a significant amount of energy._"

There was a moment of silence as the other heroes worked to understand Echo's explanations. Although it seemed like with every answer, another question would quickly follow.

"Why did Rach think that she lost it?" asked Supergirl.

Echo turned to the Girl of Steel. "_When the Ocarina Emotica is not in use, it retreats into a pocket dimension where it waits to be summoned again. When Beacon was somehow sent to_ _another dimension, the distance was too great for the instrument to maintain its connection with her. Therefore, she had been unable to summon it._"

The heroes went silent again as their brain worked to register the information, Green Lantern took this opportunity to glance at Shayera and saw that there were thin, wet streaks below her eyes.

"How 'bout you, Shayera?" Lantern asked, making the woman in question turn to him. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm…fine, John." She replied, then she looked up into the sky; the sun was now starting to breach the horizon and beams of light began to shine down through the clouds. A small, lopsided smile appeared on Shayera's face as she continued. "Besides, Grundy's in a better place now; no one can hurt him anymore…It's over."

With that, the Thanagarian walked away, where she was immediately bombarded by questions from the numerous reporters that had gathered around the police barrier.

"Hawkgirl! What happened down in the sewers?"

"Care to explain Beacon's weakened state?"

"What were those balls of light we saw?"

"Do you think today's acts can possibly make up for your complicity in the Thanagarian invasion of Earth?" Shayera frowned upon hearing that question.

"Do you have a comment on your dismissal from the Justice League?"

"Hawkgirl was never dismissed from the League," Green Lantern's voice came from behind Shayera; the other heroes had caught up with her, and Beacon was able to stand on her own again."she can come back whenever she likes." Shayera looked at him in shock, as did several reporters while he shrugged. "I recused myself because… well… anyway, Superman broke the tie."

Superman had grin on his face when Shayera turned to face him. "I believe in second chances. I believe in redemption." He explained as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "But mostly, I believe in my friends."

"Traitor!" the heroes turned to see several people cursing and throwing insults at her. It seemed that not everyone shared Superman's idea of redemption.

"Hey, back off!" Green Lantern barked. "She doesn't need to take that from you people!"

"Yes I do." Shayera corrected softly, "but it's okay; I guess I deserve some of it."

She walked off again, and was stopped for a second time when a hand reached out and grabbed hers. She turned and realized it was the mother she'd saved earlier on the bridge.

"You saved our lives." She said with a heartwarming smile. "God bless you, _Chica __Halcón_." Feeling touched, Shayera gave them a smile back.

"You deserve that, too." Green Lantern told her.

"Beacon! Supergirl! Over here!" The two girls turned to face a female news reporter dressed in a blue business suit. "After you and Hawkgirl came back from the sewers, the two of you shared what appeared to be a tender embrace. May we perhaps get some clarity on that?"

Supergirl blinked towards the reporter as she held out her mic, expecting an answer. Beacon on the other hand, walked right up to the mic and looked firmly into the reporter's eyes.

"The members of the Justice League all share a sense of camaraderie that cannot be easily fractured." said the Halfa."We've built that through working as a cohesive unit and genuinely caring about one another's welfare. I'm assuming that, based off of the events that transpired and the uncertainty of what could've happened in the sewers, Supergirl just felt a little distressed for her teammate."

Beacon's response left nearly everyone in the crowd speechless. Taking full use of that opportunity, the heroes began their departure.

"That was one heck of an answer." Supergirl whispered. "So I guess you've done this before?"

Beacon smiled and whispered back. "When you work under surveillance, it's a good idea to be prepared for any question that may or may not come up."

"I'll keep that in mind."

With that said and done, the Justice League walked off towards the sunrise.

* * *

**So Shayera finally makes her return! Also I sort of tweaked the story a little with Grundy not being a _completely _soulless shell.**

**Now to respond to some of the reviews:**

**Inviso-Al: I feel you on that one. Although it was a fun experience to create such an emotional scene.**

**Avengersassembly: That WOULD be epic! I'll see if I could find a way to make it work.**

**Dp-fan: I do plan on giving them more interaction. Also the "Flash Mobile" was a great idea!**

**Jaugarspot: Thanks for your ideas and spell-checking as always.**

**Now I hope you've all enjoyed the chapter, but as always any feedback is appreciated. Thanks for reading and see you all next time!**


	19. Chapter 14

**I don't own JLU, DP, or anything associated with the license…**

**Before I begin this chapter, I would like to say thank you… THANK YOU all very much for letting this story past 10,000 views. 10,000! I cannot thank you enough, thank you! Now I hope you enjoy this next chapter….**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 14

The work of a superhero can often be both exciting and exhilarating, but being a hero is more than just a job where a person can just fill out an application and then clock in for forty hours a week. No, being a superhero is a lifestyle; one that very few can manage. A hero must always be on his or her toes, because otherwise the consequences wouldn't only endanger their own lives, but also the lives of numerous others. Maintaining that lifestyle can become very taxing, as Beacon found out first and foremost as she slumped onto the curved lounge couch in the Watchtower's cafeteria.

The Ghost-girl leaned her head back, and let out a soft sigh. Normally she would arrive at the station full of energy, and eager to start her day, but today was not one of those days. She closed her eyes and could've easily passed out right there on the spot. _Thank goodness it's a slow day._ She thought happily. Beacon felt a presence approaching her, but she was too tired to care about who it actually was, so she just simply ignored it.

"Hey, Rachel." came Supergirl's voice.

Beacon opened her eyes, and then turned to see her Kryptonian girlfriend sitting next to her. The Halfa put on a feeble smile when she took in her girlfriend's flowing blond hair that was held back by a headband, her bright blue eyes, and those red lips that formed into the most beautiful smile.

"… Hey…" She replied weakly.

"You look like you've seen better days."

Beacon chuckled lightly. "Oh, you think so, huh?" She sat up a little straighter on the couch, and ran a hand down her face. "It's just I was up all night."

Her hometown of Miami, Florida was arguably a quiet place in terms of the level of crime, and thanks to Beacon's efforts, the level had remained low and gradually continued to shrink. However the reason she was up all night wasn't because of a sudden rise in criminal activity. Oh, no… it was something far more… _sinister._

"It's those freakin' college kids!" The Halfa exclaimed tiredly. "Literally a swarm of them arrived a day before and pretty much all of them decided to hit the beach."

"So I'm guessing they partied all day?" asked Supergirl.

"_And_ all night!" Beacon added. "So naturally, they took away any chance for me to get sort of shut-eye."

Since Beacon's home was a beach house right on the edge of Miami Beach, she was at the forefront of the insanely loud boom of the poor excuses for music the mainstream media puts out these days. Not to mention the constant chorus of alcohol induced laughter and cheers.

"And _that _wasn't even the worst of it!" The Halfa told Supergirl.

* * *

Having given up on falling asleep, Beacon had decided to be productive; with the college students' judgments all but gone thanks to their choice of beverages. The Halfa decided to be the unofficial overseer of the enormous beach-party. She had periodically flown back and forth along the coastline to make sure the students wouldn't do anything to hurt themselves, or any others. As far as she could tell, there weren't any real issues, just a swarm of people wanting to celebrate their vacation after months of school.

Beacon was about to call it quits and try to sleep again, when all of a sudden she had heard a terrified scream. Her eyes fell to a five-story building, and the figure of a man that was rapidly falling towards the ground. Without hesitation, Beacon blasted forward and scooped the man back up into the air. The man had been another partying college student. He had thanked Beacon for saving him, or at least she thought he did; his breath reeked of alcohol and his speech wore more slurs than words. When she brought the young man back up to the balcony he had fallen out of, there was another group of students waiting for them. At the sight of the Halfa, all of them instantly gasped and immediately pulled out their cell phones and tried to take pictures of her. Although with the amount of alcohol in their systems, hardly any of them could hold their phones steady enough to take a decent photo.

Beacon told the students to be more careful and wished them a pleasant evening, but before she made to leave, the group of students asked her to join their party. Some of the men even started to hit on her. Obviously, she refused and flew off back towards the beach. As she was flying away, she had overheard the two students talking.

"Dude, you own me those two hundred bucks!" said the young man she'd saved.

"Man, _whatever_!" exclaimed another one. "You were just lucky she was there to save you!"

Beacon stopped in midair and turned back to the building. Her mouth and eyes were wide open in disbelief. _Are you kidding me!?_ So he jumped off on purpose just because he had with a bet with his friend that she'd save him. _The nerve of…_ She breathed a heavy sigh and flew off again. Sure, she was mad, but honestly, she didn't know where to place the blame; the students or the alcohol. The bottom line is she did the right thing by saving him, and that was just a fluke, there's no way it could happen again… _Boyyy, _was she wrong!

* * *

Throughout the night, Beacon had to save more college students who had fallen out of buildings. The students consisted of both men as well as women; one of which even gave her a gift for saving her.

"Wait!" Supergirl interrupted. "She… she _kissed _you?!" Beacon felt her cheeks flare up as she nodded.

Of course, she had pushed the girl away almost immediately, but that was after she felt the college girl's tongue probing around her lips. She'd had enough. Even though some of the incidents were actual accidents, most of them had been a ploy to attract Beacon's attention, and true to her heroic nature, the Halfa couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

But what the girl tried to pull was the last straw, Beacon began to lecture the drunk students on responsibility, she tried to convince them that what they did was wrong, that she and other heroes were here to help with _real _dangers. The students didn't take too kindly to this and as a result, began throwing jeers and insults at her. They even went as far as throwing empty bottles at her, but since they were all drunk, Beacon had been able to dodge their projectiles with very little effort.

* * *

"Where are they now?" Supergirl demanded, she looked and sounded genuinely angry. "I'll go teach them a lesson; no one messes with my girlfriend and gets away with it!"

Beacon sighed and put her hand over Supergirl's clenched fist. "Kara, it's fine. They were just a bunch of harmless college students." She smirked when a thought came to her mind. "Though I think they _are_ paying for it with some nasty hangovers."

Supergirl loosened her fist and held onto Beacon's hand. "Yeah, I guess so." She said, sounding more relaxed.

"But honestly," Beacon continued, "after the fourth one, I honestly almost thought about just dropping them after I caught them."

Supergirl raised her eyebrows at Beacon as she stared at her in disbelief, while the Halfa gave her a lopsided smile. "_Almost_."

For a moment, the two girls shared a laugh, and then Beacon's eyes fell onto the cafeteria line in the next room. She watched as Wonder Woman and Shayera each grabbed the same tray, and then glared daggers at each other.

The reception of Shayera's return had been mixed amongst the League; some thought that she shouldn't be trusted after what she did during the Thanagarian invasion, while on the other side of the coin; some were willing to at least give her a chance to redeem herself.

However, there were some Leaguers that just outright refused to accept Shayera after her betrayal. Naturally, sitting at the top of that list was none other than the Amazon Princess, who just kept her glare firmly locked onto Shayera's back even as the Thanagarian made her way out of the cafeteria.

"Looks like Diana's still holding a grudge." Supergirl commented, having also watched the exchange.

"Yeah, looks that way." Beacon replied with a sigh.

Supergirl continued as Wonder Woman approached the table where Batman and Green Lantern were sitting. There was a smirk on the Amazon's face, and thanks to Supergirl's super-hearing, she realized that they were talking about the subject of perusing relationships. With that in mind, she turned back to Beacon.

"Rach, I wanna talk to you about something." She began.

The Halfa had leaned back onto the couch again, and this time she had draped her arm over her eyes. "Can it wait?" she asked wearily. "I don't think I have the energy to hear it."

Supergirl pressed her lips into a line as she furrowed her brow. "Then let's go for a walk-and-talk," the Kryptonian suggested, "that way you can't fall asleep on me. C'mon!"

Beacon felt Supergirl's weight left the couch, and felt a tug on her arm as she was lifted off of the couch. The Halfa felt Supergirl's vise-like grip maintain even pressure on her wrist as she was led out of the cafeteria. _Man… Talk about being whipped_. She mentally groaned to herself.

* * *

After several minutes of walking, Supergirl and Beacon found themselves in their usual spot on the Watchtower; the window in the hallway that had a clear view of the Earth below. When the blonde released her grip on her, Beacon had to fight the urge to rub the pain from her throbbing wrist. So instead, she started talking.

"Okay, Kara. You got me, and you wanted to talk to me about...?"

"I was talking with Barb the other day," Supergirl began, "and she told me she's done with her finals tomorrow. So I was thinking maybe… y'know, we can go out for Spring Break; all three of us."

Beacon took a hard look into Supergirl's face; she had that look whenever she had her eyes set on something, and her eyes seemed to have some sort of spark behind them. The Halfa then thought about Supergirl's proposal, and honestly, it sounded like fun. It would be a nice chance to meet up with Barbra again after all these months. Although, as usual, there was something nagging in the back of Beacon's mind.

"But can we just _choose_ to take a break?" she questioned. "I mean what if something big comes up?"

"Well, we'll still have our communicators," Supergirl reasoned. "And there's no specific rule saying that we 'have' to come to Watchtower every single day."

There was truth in the blonde's words, while the Founding Seven were the "De-facto" leaders of the League, they've made it clear that all Leaguers are equal amongst each other, and can still operate as independent heroes. However Beacon still felt uncomfortable with the idea skipping out on work.

"I-I don't know…" She muttered.

"Oh, _come on, _Rach!" Supergirl whined as she took hold of Beacon's hands. "Don't you think it's about time that you got to unwind and just have fun? Come on, _please_." As she dragged out that last word, the Kryptonian's blue eyes grew so big, even a puppy dog couldn't resist its effects.

Beacon pursed her lips before letting out a long sigh. "Okay, Okay…" she caved in. Supergirl gasped and pumped her fists in a flurry of excitement, but the Halfa stopped her before she could punch a hole through the wall. "Wait, wait, but only if we keep it short; like two days tops."

Supergirl's shoulder's fell as she turned her face into a gloomy pout. "Five." She haggled.

Beacon narrowed her eyes. "Three."

"Four."

The Halfa opened her mouth, but then closed it after gathering her thoughts. "Alright, fine! Four days. Then it's back to work, okay?"

Supergirl put on a happy grin, then perked her lips as she gave Beacon a gentle kiss. Shortly after, the Kryptonian flung herself at the Halfa and pulled her into a crushing embrace.

"OW!" Beacon screamed. "KARA!"

"Sorry." Supergirl let go immediately, but then she giggled as she could barely contain her own excitement. "I'll go call Barb and let her know it's on."

"Yeah, okay." Beacon winced as she rubbed her ribs. "You go do that."

The alarm rang throughout the Watchtower as the sound of an automated alert blasted out of the speakers. "_Intruder alert! Dormitory Deck A! Intruder alert! Dormitory Deck A!_ "

"Come on!" The Halfa shouted.

* * *

The two girls rushed towards the deck in question, though it took them quite some time due to the fact that the place was on the other side of the station. Just as they rounded the corner before entering the deck, there was a man's yell that came from inside a room.

"You weren't supposed to see me!" Judging from the terror in the man's voice, Beacon had a pretty good idea about whom he was talking to. "Stay back! No one was supposed to know I was here!" Suddenly, there was a sound of swirling air followed by a rush of wind.

Beacon and Supergirl finally arrived at the sense just in time to see Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern all jump into the white, swirling hole in the wall. The two girls rushed inside, but by the time they got to the wall; the hole had already closed, and the three Leaguers were gone.

"Bruce! Diana! John!" Beacon yelled into the wall, despite knowing that they had no way of hearing her.

* * *

The remaining founding Leaguers; Superman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, and Shayera, had arrived shortly afterwards. They were somewhat confused to see Beacon and Supergirl there, but upon seeing the expression on both girls they began asking questions.

"What happened?" Superman spoke.

Beacon looked down for a second as she racked her brain; the memory was still fuzzy in her mind. "I-I have no idea!" she confessed. "All we saw was Batman, Diana, and GL all jump into some hole in the wall."

"After that the hole closed up behind them," Supergirl took over, "and then, nothing. They were just… gone."

The older heroes blinked for a second before turning to one another. "Sounds like they must have jumped through some sort of portal," Manhunter hypnotized. "I could try to triangulate their positions with their communicators."

Superman looked firmly at his friend, and nodded. "Do it." J'onn returned Superman's nod and then phased up through the ceiling. With him gone, the Man of Steel turned to Flash and Shayera. "You two go tell the others to patrol around the Watchtower: Make sure nothing else gets through."

"On it!" said Flash quickly. Then he zoomed off at breakneck speeds.

"… Typical," Shayera sighed as she decided to _walk _out of the dormitory deck.

"And you two," Superman began as he looked at the two girls, "I want the two of you to help me investigate the crime scene. Maybe we can find some clues as to where they went."

Beacon nodded before turning to Supergirl, whose eyebrows had disappeared behind her bangs. Clearly she hadn't been expecting Superman to assign that task to her. After nudging the blonde with her elbow, the three of them got to work. Each of them searched in different parts of the room. Supergirl was using her enhanced visions as she studied the wall where the hole had appeared; she hoped that maybe it had left some residue behind. Beacon on the other hand, was studying Batman's spare utility belts that had been lying on the floor. She was trying to deduce who would want to steal such a specific item. It couldn't be one of Batman's usual enemies; they might be crazy, but the Halfa doubted they were crazy enough to break into a space station filled with superheroes.

Beacon turned her gaze to the oddly shaped hole in the closet door. She noticed there was some sort of orange residue surrounding the hole. Beacon brushed over the small hole with her glove and gently rubbed the material between her fingers. _Rust? _She thought to herself.

Turning back to the hole, she activated her holographic interface and began a more thorough examination. When a beep indicated the scan was done, she read the text quickly before turning back to the others. "Clark, Kara. Come look at this."

"What've you got?" Supergirl asked.

"The metal on the door had rusted completely through." Beacon answered. "And only a specific part of the door had been affected."

"So, did the intruder use some sort of acid to corrode the metal?" Superman chimed in.

"Hmm, doesn't look like it." Supergirl replied, her eyes were glowing white; indicating that she was using one of her many super-visions. "There's no trace of any sort of chemical, only the metal that makes up this door."

At this point, the Scarlet Speedster had reappeared with the same blazing speed he used to exit the room. "The others are patrolling the Tower right now, Supes." He informed with his hands on his hips. "So what have we got?"

Beacon looked between her fellow heroes. "Going off of what Kara said; the rust on the metal wasn't caused by some sort of chemical. Based on what I got, the metal corroded… naturally."

Superman raised a curious eyebrow. "But the door is three inches thick." He recounted. "It would take years to rust all the way through."

By now, Shayera had made her reappearance; though judging from her slight panting, she must've ran all the way back here. "Wha- what have we-"

"They found some rust on the door that wasn't caused by chemicals, but happened naturally." Flash quickly brought her up to speed.

"So how did that happen?" Shayera asked.

"I have a guess." Beacon replied. "Maybe the intruder somehow accelerated the metal's corrosion."

"Like the ability to age things?" questioned Supergirl.

"I can't say for sure, but maybe we can know more if we head to the…" Beacon cut her sentence off abruptly when she suddenly felt her body go mind-numbingly cold, and then she gasped as her visual breath escaped from her mouth.

"Rach?" Supergirl said with a hint of concern in her voice. "Was that your…?"

"Yeah, my Ghost-Sense." finished the Halfa. "But here? _Now? _"She let out a low groan. "Talk about _awful _timing."

"Time is never a right or a wrong, It just simply… _is_."

Everyone jerked their heads around when they heard a deep voice echo along the walls. Most of them got into their stances and prepared for a fight. However, what had appeared in front of them made them blink several times in confusion. Floating in the air before them was what looked like a giant clock hand; a second later it began to spin on its axis in a circle creating a swirling blue portal. When the hand made a full circle, it disappeared in a flash of blue light. Once the light was gone, in the portal's place was a figure of a man with a pale blue face, wearing a violet, hooded cloak. He had solid red eyes, a jagged scar running down the left side of his face, and didn't have any legs, instead, his entire lower half was just a wispy tail.. Lastly, clutched in his hand was a tall scepter that housed a small, circular clock at the top.

"Who are you?" Superman demanded immediately.

The answer came not from the figure, but from the Halfa behind him. "Clockwork…" She muttered.

"Clock_who_?" Supergirl asked.

"I am Clockwork." The pale-faced man announced. "Master of time."

"Okay then, ol' 'Grand Master'." Flash jabbed with clear sarcasm. "How did you get into the Watchtower?"

Clockwork simply stared at the speedster, completely unamused. "I believe you already know the answer to that question. _Wallace_."

Flash and the others widened their eyes. The speedster was so surprised he actually stumbled back a bit on his feet. "Wha…How…?" he struggled to say. "You- you know who I am?"

Clockwork glanced over to the other Leaguers. "I know who _all _of you are." Then he ever-so-slightly raised and lowered his shoulders. "But then again… I know _everything._" At the last word, Clockwork's entire form shifted, making him look like a child.

"How'd you do that?" asked Shayera.

"I exist because of time." The ghost answered. Although he looked much younger, his voice sounded exactly the same. "For me; time goes backward," His form shifted again, this time into the form of a very old man with an extremely long beard, "and forward… but I didn't come here to explain my humble existence to you. I came here to warn you."

While the heroes looked amongst each other in bewilderment, Beacon widened her eyes. "It's something to do with the time stream, isn't it?"

Clockwork nodded. "Several minutes ago, a man by the name of David Clinton snuck into this space station, and attempted to steal a trinket from this time period." He raised his scepter and pointed it towards the wall. "Observe." The tip of Clockwork's staff began to glow as a circular screen appeared. The heroes watched as the screen played the events prior to the disappearance of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern. A man dressed in a blue bodysuit, who they guessed was David, emerged from a swirling portal, and then took Batman's utility belt by corroding a hole through the metal door. Immediately after they saw him panic as the three Leaguers stalked closer to him. The heroes watched as David backed into the wall before turning the dial on his belt. Once again the swirling portal reappeared and David immediately dove into its threshold, closely followed by their three teammates.

"So that's what happened." Supergirl muttered as the screen disappeared.

Beacon remained silent and rubbed her chin as she thought back to what Clockwork said. "You said he tried to steal something 'from this time period'." She recalled. "So we're dealing with a time traveler."

The pale ghost eyed the Halfa with a firm expression. "Worse. He is a time traveler that has no idea of the effects he causing throughout the time stream." He brought up another screen; off the shore of a metropolitan city, a bright light began to shine across the entire horizon. Although something seemed off, the light was too intense and white in color to be sunlight. Also the whiteness was rapidly spreading across the sky, as if the sky itself was being wiped out of existence.

"He's causing serious damage to the space-time continuum!" Superman realized.

"And it's destroying reality." Shayera added grimly.

As Beacon watched the wave of white light slowly erase…well, _everything_, a thought came to her mind. Turning back to Clockwork, she asked, "Can't _you _do anything to stop that? Maybe go back to before that guy started to mess with time?"

"It's not that simple, Rachel." Clockwork replied coolly as he made the screen disappear.

Beacon blinked. "What do you mean?" she demanded. "You're the '_Master_ of time'! Surely you'd have the power to stop it."

"David Clinton's interference with time is not only affecting this world, but _all _worlds." Clockwork explained. "And my powers have been stretched too thin."

There was a moment of silence as the heroes took in the severity of the issue. Then Flash spoke up again. "What about Bats, Diana, and GL? What happened to them?"

In response, Clockwork changed the image on the screen with a wave of his hand. After the swirling inside the screen had settled, the Leaguers were delighted to see their friends walking in some Old-West-looking town.

Slightly relieved knowing that her friends were alright, Beacon turned back to Clockwork as the thought of the reality being erased seeped back into her mind. "There has to be another way!" Beacon declared. Then she turned to face Clockwork. "And you know what it is, don't you?"

The time ghost nodded as he shifted back into a young adult. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out two medallions in the shape of metal gears and had the letters "C" and "W" etched in the center.

"What's with the bling?" questioned the Flash.

"They're time medallions." Beacon explained as she took one and hung it around her neck. "Clockwork's planning to send us to some point in time to stop Clinton, right?"

"Actually, it looks like only _two _of us are going." Flashed pointed to the medallions.

"Then I'll go." The other heroes whipped around to see Supergirl stepping up and taking the other medallion.

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea, Kara." Superman said after tightening his jaw.

Supergirl rolled her eyes at her cousin. "Seriously, Clark?" she jabbed. "I'll be fine!"

The Man of Steel paused and swallowed hard for a moment before he spoke again. "Alright," he said slowly before turning to face Clockwork. "So what exactly is your plan?"

The ghost eyed between the two girls wearing his medallions as he spoke. "I'm going to send forward 50 years to the City of Gotham. There you will regroup with the other heroes and put a stop to Clinton before he destroys all of reality."

"Got it." Beacon confirmed with a nod. "But what're you gonna be doing?"

"I'm going to my best to halt any further damage to the time stream." Clockwork answered. "At best I could buy you more time."

Both Beacon and Supergirl nodded as Superman spoke up from behind them. "You two be careful, alright?" he advised. "You and the others are…" Beacon and Supergirl suddenly widened their eyes when they saw Superman, Flash, and Shayera slowly fade away. "… The only of hope of …." Superman was never able to finish his sentence as he and the two heroes next to him completely disappeared.

"Clark!" Supergirl screamed as she stretched out her hand, but they were gone.

"They've been erased from time!" Beacon realized. She turned to face the ghost in front of her, who had changed into an old man. "Clockwork, we need to go now!"

With that said, Clockwork pressed a button at the top of his scepter. The large clock hand reappeared in front of them, and this time ran in a circle counterclockwise. When the circle was complete, there was a flash of light, and Beacon, Supergirl, and Clockwork were gone.

* * *

**Gotham City: Year 2054**

Things had just been going from bad to worse for Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern. After they'd gotten hold of David Clinton and his time-travel belt in the Old West, the heroes thought that they'd caught a break and could finally go back to their own time. Unfortunately, Clinton had tricked them and escaped into another time tunnel. Naturally the three heroes followed, and they found themselves in the distant future, where they were fighting for their lives.

Mere seconds after coming out of the time tunnel, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern were ambushed by a group of clowns, a scarecrow, and a humanoid hyena with metal arms. Although, luckily for the heroes, help came immediately after in the form of an older version of Static, a sort of honorary member of the Justice League despite still being in his mid-teens back in their own time. With him was a man in a black body-suit with two points above his cowl and a noticeably red bat-symbol on his chest. The last man was dressed head-to-toe in silver armor, on his back were two large, black wings. Although at first he was a mystery, Green Lantern received a shocking surprise when the man called him…"Dad".

With the additional help, the three founding Leaguers engaged the group of villains. The struggle pressed on for quite some time. However, eventually the favor begun to shift towards the villains as their own superpowers and mechanical augmentations allowed them to slowly gain the advantage.

Wonder Woman was currently engaged against a fat clown wearing a pink shirt and mask, his lower body was replaced by a large ball. He swung his double-beamed energy weapon at the Amazon, who blocked it with her metal bracelets. Despite blocking the blunt of the attack, Wonder Woman felt surges of pain course through her body, making her arm go numb. The pain was too much for her to defend against the clown's next blow, and he struck her right in the jaw. The Warrior Princess grunted loudly as she was sent crashing through the wall. Wonder Woman slowly opened her eyes as she laid on the pile of rubble. She could just make out the clown rolling up to her, and raising his weapon, poised to deliver the kill. He was just about to bring it down on her head, when a blur of motion popped into her vision. The next thing she knew, the clown was sent flying across the street and crashing into the side of a building. Wonder Woman looked up slightly, and found herself staring into the eyes of Kara Zor-El.

"Supergirl?" She asked.

"That's me." The Kryptonian answered with a grin. She grabbed Wonder Woman by the arm and gently pulled the Amazon back to her feet, who continued to stare at her in awe.

"B-But how are you here?"

At this, Supergirl frowned, and pulled a serious expression. "I'll explain later. Right now we need to take care of these guys."

Wonder Woman nodded, with a look of firmness that was on par with the younger girl standing next to her.

* * *

The winged, armored man flew right into the hyena creature, and slammed him onto the ground. The blow didn't seem to have affected him all that much, because he kicked his opponent into the air and then immediately brought him back to the ground. The hyena then worked on chipping away at the winged-man's armor with his sharp metal claws, howling with insane laughter. Before the creature got another swipe, he was blown off the man when a blue-energy beam struck him right in the face, the hyena then slid back for a few yards, completely unconscious.

The winged-man rubbed his head as he slowly came to. Once his vision cleared, he saw Beacon standing over him, crouching slightly. "You alright?" she asked in concern as she extended a hand, which the man accepted and allowed the Halfa to pull him back up.

"I'm fine," He said firmly, "but thank you."

Beacon nodded, and then she quickly shifted her body to the side. There was an electrical sound as the tip of an energy-whip hit the spot where she had just been. Beacon and the man next to her turned and found themselves being approached by two identical teenage girls, who both had the same orange hair, clown make-up, and clothes.

"Looks like someone showed late to the party, Dee Dee." One of them said.

"Then I'd say would should give her a warm welcome, Dee Dee." replied the other.

Beacon and the winged man did their best to bob-and-weave out of the whips' way. However, amongst the chaos they failed to notice that the hyena had regained consciousness. He ran towards them on all fours and tackled the armored-clad hero. Beacon successfully dodged another swing, and then fired a shot of energy at one of the Dee Dees. It struck her right in the chest and she slammed onto the ground. To Beacon's surprise, the moment the twin hit the ground, she split into two Dee Dees.

_What the… How did she…? _The Halfa couldn't finish her thought as the other twin charged at her. She dodged two more whip-swings and found her opportunity. Beacon quickly closed the distance between them, and punched Dee Dee right in the jaw. For a second time, Dee Dee split off into two and the pair of them did a backflip before landing a few yards back, where they regrouped with the other two Dee Dees. The four twins all held their whips in their right hands as they slowly walked towards Beacon.

"You really shouldn't've done that." All the Dee Dees said in unison.

Beacon glared at them. "So you made copies of yourselves." She remarked as she shifted into a stance. "Well, two can play this game." One by one, three duplicates appeared next to her, all of them in the exact stance that she was in. All of the Dee Dees widened their eyes in shock as Beacon and her duplicates engaged them. Each one was using a different tactic; one charged straight at them, while the others either took to the air, went invisible, or stayed back to provide ranged support.

The fight continued to escalate as the man in the black suit soared above the scene using the rockets in his boots. Neither the heroes nor the villains appeared to be gaining an advantage over the other, maybe it was time for a regroup.

"We need to get out of here." He said firmly in a low voice.

"No!" yelled the winged man, who was still wrestling with the hyena. "Hold the line!"

"He's right!" Wonder Woman also yelled. "We're the Justice League; we don't run from a fight!"

"Yeah, besides," Supergirl joined in as she hurled the large, brute-like clown towards another building, "we're winning!"

The man in black pulled out a small control box from his belt, and aimed it towards the sky. "I don't remember pulling this up for a vote." He pressed the button on the control box, and a swirling tube appeared a few feet above him. Unfortunately, immediately after the fat clowned rolled up and destroyed the control box by throwing his weapon at it. The man could only watch as their escape route disappeared from existence.

"Get your head in the game, kid." said Green Lantern as he floated up beside him. "There's always another way." He turned to Static, who was standing on a piece of the electrified metal disc. "Virgil! I need some cover." Static brought his hands closer together, and focused his power. He then launched a ball of surging electricity high into the sky, where it exploded in a flash of blinding light.

When the clown-themed villains uncovered their eyes, they found that the heroes had disappeared.

"They're gone, Dee Dee." Dee Dee said. Her twin looked around for a few seconds, then something caught her eye.

"Bet I know which way they went, Dee Dee." The other villain turned to see a green entry way. They looked amongst each other as they pondered their next step.

Eventually, the brutish clown spoke up. "After 'em!" With that, the clowns ran into the entryway. As the villains ran, Green Lantern watched as he stood on the edge of a building, pointing his ring downwards towards them.

After Static had created the diversion that covered their escape, Lantern had thought of constructing a maze with his ring to further distract the clowns, and they had taken the bait so willingly that it was laughable. After watching the clowns run back and forth in his construct, he erased it from existence, and then flew off after the others.

"I think we've lost 'em." Green Lantern announced as they flew, with Batman holding onto the man in black.

"Where are we headed? The Watchtower?" Wonder Woman asked.

The man in black looked at her before turning his eyes back in front, "Not exactly." He replied vaguely.

The Leaguers continued to follow their futuristic allies until they all touched down before an old, abandoned building. Upon taking a closer look, Beacon noticed a sign that read "Hamilton Hill High School" above the double-doors. Once inside, the time-traveling heroes immediately noticed the litter on the floor, the graffiti-covered walls, and the faulty electricity. Beacon was also sure that she saw a couple of rats scurry across the floor.

"_This _is Justice League Headquarters?" Batman questioned as they walked along the dark halls.

"For now." Static replied as he stopped in front of a computer terminal, and turned it on. "We're all that's left of the League."

"You've traveled about fifty years into your future." The Man in black informed. "And not to state the obvious, but I'm the new Batman."

"Mm, good to know that the legend lives on." Wonder Woman commented.

"Batman is a symbol Gotham needs," The future Batman replied. Then he turned to address the first Batman, "whether it's Bruce Wayne… or beyond."

"Hey, that's something we can call you." Beacon said. When everyone turned to her, the Halfa quickly elaborated, she gestured to the first Batman and spoke again. "He's Batman," She gestured to the other Batman, "and you're Batman Beyond_._"

There was a pause, and then Batman _Beyond_ gave a lazy shrug. Lantern turned, and walked up to Static. "Last time I saw you, you were too young to drive; you look good for a man your age."

"The miracles of modern medicine," said Static with a shrug, "sixty-five is the new thirty." In any other time, Beacon would've chuckled at the "modern" comment, but now wasn't the time.

"What happened to the Watchtower?" asked Batman.

"It's gone," Batman Beyond told him. "We lost a lot of good people that day." Beacon noticed Supergirl turning away, her skin had paled slightly.

"You mean Superman, J'onn and all the others?" asked Wonder Woman

"Yeah…" Supergirl chimed in. "They're gone." Everyone looked at her in confusion, but Supergirl just hugged her arms closer to her chest as her eyes fell to the floor.

Beacon stepped closer, and put a gentle hand on her girlfriend's shoulder before looking back at the others. "Before we came here… we saw Clark, Wally, and Shayera all disappear from time." She explained, making Batman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman widened their eyes in surprise.

"B-but if they're gone," Lantern began, "Then how'd you two get to the future?"

Beacon opened her mouth to answer, but a voice from the shadows beat her to it. "_The logical answer is both Beacon and Supergirl received assistance from a source with a thorough understanding of the nature of space-time._" As the voice finished the sentence, two figures emerged from the shadows. One was an elderly man with pure white hair, and supported by a cane. Over to his left was a miniature robot hovering in midair. There were several small dents and scratches across his metallic body and one of his antennae was broken halfway. "_Judging from the medallions; the one that provided the assistance is Clockwork._"

"Clockwork?" Wonder Woman asked Beacon, after her shock had worn off. "Who's that?"

"A ghost from my world." The Halfa replied. "He has the power to control time."

"_Additionally,_" Echo said. "_Many have argued that he is in fact the very first ghost to ever exist."_

With that said, Echo and the old man approached the heroes. A lopsided smirk was etched into the latter's face when he locked eyes with Batman, "Surprised to see me?" He asked in a low, but all-too-familiar voice.

"A little," Batman confessed, "I'm more surprised that I lived so long."

"Batman, Bruce Wayne," Batman Beyond introduced, "Bruce Wayne, Batman; or have you met?"

"Not now!" Both of them barked.

"Great," Batman Beyond groaned as he walked away, "what did they used to call it? Stereo?"

"This is a little awkward for everybody," said the winged man as he took off his helmet, "I'm War Hawk; Rex Stewart." He held out his hand to Lantern.

Beacon blinked at Rex; she had heard that John and Shayera had once had feelings for each other, but they'd been somewhat estranged since the Thanagarian invasion. Well, in any case, the Halfa was glad that the two eventually made up.

"Your mother," began Lantern slowly as he shook War Hawk's hand, "who is she?"

_Really, John? Really? _Beacon mentally face-palmed.

"Kind of obvious, don't you think?" Rex answered his father.

Beacon turned to see that Echo had floated up to her. "So you survived… whatever it is that happened?" she asked.

"_Affirmative,_" the robot replied,"_though, as you can clearly see; I did not escape without sustaining heavy damages. As a result, I no longer have combat capabilities._"

Beacon nodded, but was still curious. "So what did happen to the League?"

From the other side of the room, Batman spoke up. "Leave it be." He advised. "You don't want to know too much about your future."

"Trust me, you really don't." added Batman Beyond. There was an awkward silence as a wave of despair flowed through the room. Then Static broke the silence.

"Guys, relax. We've already won. Think about it," he gestured to Batman, "if old-Bruce is here, that means he already lived through this as Batman."

"Flawless logic," said _old-_Bruce, "except that I have no memory of ever going to the future and meeting my older self, or anything else that's happening today."

"Those historical buildings we saw on the street," said Batman, "the timeline's been polluted." Earlier, when the heroes were making their way to the League's headquarters, they caught sight of several monuments from various times in history. Either they were _very _good replicas, or David Clinton had stolen them from their original places.

"It's gotten so polluted that history itself is becoming fluid." Bruce continued.

"We better compare notes." Wonder Woman suggested. Then she turned to the two younger girls. "Perhaps you two can give us more details as to how you managed to meet up with us in this timeline."

* * *

After nearly an hour, the heroes felt like they had a clearer understanding of the situation. Beacon and Echo took turns explaining how Clockwork was the one that sent them to the future, and how the medallions he had given her and Supergirl were the things allowed them to stay in that specific time period. After the Halfa's explanation, the Leaguers of both the future and present turned to the computer screen, which showed a picture David Clinton, who now called himself Lord Chronos, wearing a green and white bodysuit with a symbol of an hourglass on his chest.

"We still don't know much about him." admitted Batman Beyond. "Obviously, he's a time-traveling warlord; he's littered the streets with buildings he's stolen from other time periods."

"He's not a warlord." Wonder Woman corrected. "At least he wasn't at first, when we chased him to the old west, all he was stealing was historical trinkets."

"Well, it doesn't matter now," Supergirl began in a low voice. Nearly everyone turned to look at the Girl of Steel, who had remained silent throughout their previous conversation. "Because now he's destroying everything."

"She's right," Bruce said grimly as he typed on the console. "He's causing severe damage to the space-time continuum, the degradation is increasing exponentially."

"I've got something," Everyone turned to Batman to see the Dark Knight also typing away on the console. "When we were in the Old West, I got a good look at his time-belt." He typed a few more keys on the console, and then pulled out a small disk. "I've written a program that should disable it."

"If we can get close enough to upload it" War Hawk expressed.

"If we can get our hands on the belt," said Wonder Woman, "maybe we can stop any of this from ever happening in the first place." As she spoke, and to the other's horror, the Amazon's form began to fade away, but she didn't even notice anything. "We could even undo the deaths of…" No one knew what she was going to say next as she completely vanished from sight.

"Diana!" yelled Batman, stretching out his hand to grab her, but caught nothing but air.

The entire room was silent as they realized what had just happened.

"She… never left the island…" said Bruce.

"Or she was never born." Batman suggested.

"Time is running out," muttered Batman Beyond. Everyone turned to a monitor on the console, which showed a massive wave of light slowly wiping everything out of existence; exactly like what Beacon and Supergirl saw before coming to the future. "Literally…" he added.

"We need to find this guy." Green Lantern declared.

"How?" questioned Static, "He could be anywhere."

"Sometimes the old ways are best." Batman answered, the others turned to see him marching towards the door.

"It's not gonna work," countered the other Batman, "you don't know your way around here; a lot of things have changed."

Batman stopped at the door and turned his head. "Are criminals still superstitious and cowardly?"

"Yep." replied Bruce rather plainly.

"Good enough for me." With that, the Dark Knight stepped out.

* * *

The other heroes turned to one another, unsure of what to do, though eventually they got the hint and made to follow after Batman. Beacon had just made it to the doorway when she stopped. The Halfa noticed something was off, and turned back to see Supergirl standing there, not moving a muscle.

"Kara?" she ran back to check on the blonde. "Something wrong?" Supergirl didn't answer; she just kept her eyes trained on the spot where Wonder Woman had once stood.

"Kara," Beacon repeated, "you're scaring me." she reached out and put a hand on Supergirl's arm, but all she did was blink. "If something's wrong, tell me."

"She's gone, just like that…" Supergirl muttered incomprehensively. "… Just like Clark, and the others." She turned to look at the Halfa, the telltale sign of fear and panic were etched into her blue eyes. "Everything's disappearing, Rach! First Clark, then… then Diana. Who'll be the next one to disappear?! What if it's…"

"Kara!" Beacon tightened her grip on Supergirl's arm. "It's not gonna be one of us."

"Well, how'd you know?" The Kryptonian demanded.

"Because we're wearing _these,_" the Halfa tugged at the medallion she wore around her neck. "Don't worry, they'll protect us."

Supergirl jerked her head to the side, but Beacon could clearly see that her eyes were quivering. "It's just… we never… I never made things right with…" She squeezed her eyes shut as the tears began to flow. "… And now I-I…"

"Hey, hey!" Beacon exclaimed. "Look at me, look at me." She cupped Supergirl's cheek with her other hand and slowly turned the blonde's face. "Everything's gonna be fine, _alright?_ We're gonna through this, we're gonna set everything right again."

"How could you be sure?" Supergirl questioned.

In answer, Beacon brought her lips to Supergirl's, and for a moment they just remained on that exact same spot. Beacon could feel Supergirl's tears soak her cheeks; one of her arms slowly shifted to the blonde's waist while the other held firmly, but gently, onto her cheek.

"To be perfectly honest, Kara, I'm really not," The Halfa whispered as they broke off their kiss, "but I remember being told that when things get tough, the best thing to do is remain strong." Supergirl blinked a few times and they just stared into each other's eyes. Beacon took this opportunity to brush the tear off her girlfriend's cheek before continuing. "We _will_ fix it, Kara. Trust me, okay?"

"… Okay." she replied. Beacon felt a smile etch on her face when she saw that a bit of fire seemed to have ignited in Supergirl's eyes.

"Kara! Rachel!" They turned to see Green Lantern standing at the door, looking somewhat frustrated. "You two coming, or what?"

"Coming!" exclaimed both girls as they all exited the building and flew after Lantern.

* * *

Batman was kneeling on the edge of a building as he looked towards the city. A second later, he narrowed his eyes and whirled around to see a thin young man wearing a straw hat, and looked like a stitched-up scarecrow.

"You're supposed to be the _real _Batman, right?" he asked coldly, "I mean the first one; I've seen history-cubes about you." he raised his arm, which was quickly replaced by a buzz-saw. "Hard to believe somebody as stupid as you ever beat the Joker."

Batman just glared at him. "Maybe I'm smarter that I took."

The scarecrow charged at him, saw raised and spinning rapidly. However, before he got far, he was struck by a bolt of purple lighting, and he twitched violently before dropping like a stone. When he raised his head again, he found himself surrounded by the rest of the Leaguers; Bruce was lowered onto the roof by a disk courtesy of Green Lantern.

"Oh, terrific." The scarecrow groaned sarcastically.

All the heroes simply glared as Batman Beyond addressed him. "You've got some information we need, Ghoul."

"You won't find me the talkative sort." The villain declared. Immediately, Batman grabbed him by the shoulder, and pulled him across the roof. Then he stretched out his arm, and dangled Ghoul over the edge.

"Where's Chronos?" The Dark Knight demanded. "My arm's getting tired."

"I can't believe I was ever that green." Bruce snatched Ghoul by the shirt and threw him back onto the roof. He continued to approach him, his cane raised. "_This _is how you interrogate someone."

* * *

"… And we've got nine thousand, four hundred and fifty-three active Jokerz, organized into about two hundred smaller groups." Ghoul was spilling the beans as fast as his mouth would allow. "I don't know where Chronos is; he contacts us! He spends every night in a different one of those old buildings. There's no way of knowing ahead of time where he's gonna be, and that's everything I know!" He looked up into Bruce's eyes.

"_Everything?" _he questioned in a low voice.

Ghoul looked away in sheer embarrassment. "I wet my bed until I was fourteen."

_Okay, ewww!_ Beacon thought to herself.

"Losing my patience." Bruce growled, clutching his cane again. However, when Batman put a hand on his shoulder, he stopped and backed away.

"I can't control my friend here much longer," Batman warned, "so you'd better give us something we can use."

"His wife!" Ghoul confessed. "I know where his wife is!" Then he turned and saw Beacon and Supergirl. "And he knows about you two! He'll be ready for you."

"Thanks for the heads up." said Beacon as she crossed her arms.

With the interrogation complete, Static turned to Green Lantern.

"Wow, Batman playin' '_good_ cop'."

"Everything's relative." Lantern replied with a shrug.

"Do I even want to know what he…?" Beacon began curiously as she turned to Supergirl.

"Mm-mm," The Girl of Steel sounded with the slightest shake of her head.

* * *

**Pyramid of Giza, Gotham**

The security in the ancient monument was relatively light; clearly Chronos thought that leaving tall, fake-skinned robots that had smiles that would make the Joker proud was enough to secure the place. The thought was instantly proven wrong when the massive doors to Chronos' wife's room crashed to the floor, and Green Lantern stepped forward.

"Enid Clinton," He began, but then his form shifted, replacing him with a Caucasian man with a green masked that covered his eyes, though he was still in his uniform, and still had his ring.

"… We've got business with your husband." The man sounded completely different as he looked at everybody else, who were all staring at him in astonishment. "What?"

"John?" asked Static.

"Hal Jordan," the Lantern replied, "another time-shift. I'm up to speed, carry on."

As he walked towards Enid, Batman Beyond put his hands on his hips. "Okay, I'm starting to get a migraine."

"We'd better get used to it." said Batman. "This going to get worse before it gets better; any one of us could change, or even cease to exist."

"That's why you have to tell us where to find David," Hal Jordan pleaded with Enid, "we just want to undo the harm he's caused; you have my word, we'll do everything in our power to keep from hurting him."

Enid furrowed her brow as she spoke. "Between you and me, I wouldn't mind one bit if he got roughed up along the way.

"Then where is he tonight?' asked War Hawk. "The Parthenon? The Great Sphinx?"

"He just wants people to think he moves around," Enid answered, "he always sleeps in the same place."

* * *

**The Coliseum**

The Leaguers landed into the famous stadium, which looked completely brand-new. As if Chronos had just taken it straight from Ancient Rome, and put it right in the middle of Gotham. However, what the heroes didn't expect was that in the center of the Coliseum was a small, Old-Western style Jailhouse. In fact, it was the same Jailhouse that Clinton was incarcerated in for six months, according to Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern's description. Hal Jordan raised his ring and ran a scan on the wooden building.

"No booby-traps…" He told the others after a moment. Then his form shifted again, turning him back into John Stewart, "… at least, none that my ring can detect."

"Make up your mind, would you?" Static asked crossly.

"Anyway," Lantern went on, "It's safe to go in."

As they all prepared themselves, War Hawk's face fell dramatically. "If we don't beat this guy, we lose everything." He realized.

"We've been there before," replied Batman Beyond.

"Not like this." War Hawk hung his head slightly. "What are you supposed to do when you have the weight of the world on your shoulders?"

He turned when his father put a hand on his shoulder. "Plant your feet." John answered simply. Then the heroes marched in.

The interior of the Jailhouse was small; there were only two iron cells. It didn't take long for the heroes to find Chronos sleeping under the covers in his personal cell.

"I don't understand." Green Lantern whispered. "With all the places he could be, why sleep here?"

Enid let out a snort. "Because a loser with a kingdom is still just a loser." She marched right up to Chronos' bed and yanked the covers off, revealing her thumb-sucking husband. "See for yourself."

Not long after, Chronos began to stir, and then his eyes flickered open in shock. "Enid?" he demanded as he looked from his wife to the heroes behind her.

"Nice on the stealth thing lady." Batman Beyond remarked sarcastically.

Before they could jump him, Chronos pressed a button on his belt. The heroes whipped around to see the opening of a time-tunnel, followed by the appearance of the Jokerz, of whom they were informed by Batman Beyond. Curiously, the fat-clown known as Chucko was missing.

"Get the belt!" ordered Batman. "Nothing else matters!" He dove at Chronos, but before he could reach him the man had leapt into another time-tunnel.

War Hawk flew at the Jokerz, but the brutish-looking clown, who was named Bonk and had a giant mallet where his right hand should be, smacked to the armor-clad hero through the wooden roof. Before Bonk could get his full attention back to the other heroes, Supergirl rushed in and smashed him through the walls and outside the jail. The resulting shockwave from the impact made the old building begin to shake, and eventually start to collapse.

Without hesitation, Batman sped towards the exit, hopping over the humanoid hyena's head. Beacon and Batman Beyond, who had pulled Enid into his arms, also quickly made their escape by flying through the hole War Hawk made in the ceiling. Green Lantern and Static were the last two heroes that remained in the crumbling Jailhouse, and like the heroes they are, the both of them combined their energies to shield not only themselves, but also the villains that remained.

Batman had just successfully made it out the door and had his eyes honed in on the fleeing Chronos. Unfortunately, he couldn't manage to escape entirely as the roof above the deck fell right on top of him as the entire building collapsed on itself.

Green Lantern and Static released their energies when the building was nothing but piles of broken wood, and bent metal. They both breathed a sigh of relief, but then they remembered that they still had villains to fight.

"A real gentleman, isn't he, Dee Dee?" asked one twin.

"They're pretty much extinct, Dee Dee." answered the other before she pulled out her energy-whip and struck Green Lantern with it. Before Static could retaliate, the hyena, named Woof, smacked him high into the air, but he was able to recover fast enough to save himself by pulling out his disc. For a few moments Static chased and shot bolts of electricity at Woof, but then suddenly tears of white light began to rip through the ground, and before Static knew, he felt himself being pulled into the tear.

Supergirl had pinned Bonk to the ground and was wailing on him with her fist, but the clown eventually managed to kick her off him, the Girl of Steel was surprised with how much strength he had. As Supergirl got back to her feet, an energy-whip went taut around her wrist, quickly followed by another. She then felt her arms being pulled to the side, and whipped her head in either direction to see both Dee Dees putting full tension on their whips. Gritting her teeth, Supergirl heaved one of her arms, yanking one twin off her feet. She quickly made to repeat the process with the other arms, but as two whips wrapped tightly around her ankles, massive jolts of electricity began to course through her body, making her cry out in agony.

When the shock had stopped and before Supergirl could react, a Dee Dee hopped onto her back, wrapping her legs around her body like a vise so she couldn't be thrown off. Dee Dee then pulled out what looked like an injection gun with a cylinder filled with bright-green liquid.

"Let's see how super you are after _this._" Dee Dee growled with a smirk.

She plunged the needle into Supergirl's neck and pulled the trigger.

Instantly, Supergirl felt her insides burn like they were on fire. She yelled as her muscles refused to function properly and she plopped down onto her hands and knees. She began to shake uncontrollably and felt the worst kind of sickness anyone can feel. There was only one thing that possibly could make her feel like this, and now it's inside her!

She fell completely flat on the ground when she literally had no more strength in her arms. The only thing she could do was listen to the twins' cruel laughter. "Have we ever taken a Kryptonian down before, Dee Dee?"

"Don't think so, but there's a first time for everything, Dee Dee." The other twin gloated.

They began laughing again, but it was quickly cut off when a pair energy beams struck both twins in the chest. The other duplicates of Dee Dee looked around in confusion, before Beacon zoomed in faster than they could see, and knocked them all unconscious.

With the twins incapacitated, the Halfa immediately rushed back to check on Supergirl, who had definitely seen better days; her skin was awfully pale, and there were streaks of sickly-green veins pulsing along her body.

The Half knelt down and gently lifted Supergirl's head onto her lap. "Kara! Are you alright?" _Stupid! Why're you asking?! Course she's not!_

Supergirl seemed to also be thinking alongside the same thoughts, because she replied. "She… She injected me with… with K-Kryptonite." Then she let out a horrible, retching cough, and Beacon gasped in shock when she saw specks of blood shoot out of her mouth.

Beacon lifted her head and quickly surveyed the battle; the twins were still knocked out. Batman Beyond was flinging batarangs at Ghoul. War Hawk was going toe-to-toe with Bonk, and Green Lantern was trying to fend off both Woof and Bonk at the same time. There still wasn't any sign of either Batman or Chronos. With that done, she turned back to Supergirl.

"I gotta to get you out of here." She declared. She scooped Supergirl into a bridal-carry, and shot off into the air, landing in the stands a few seconds later. In the minuscule span of time, Supergirl's condition continued to deteriorate; the veins in her face had begun to turn green, there was a thin trail of blood running down the corner of her mouth, and her breathing was growing more and more ragged. "Kara? Kara!" Beacon exclaimed as she held Supergirl's cheeks between her hands. "You're gonna be alright, okay? Just stay with me!"

Try as she might, however, the Halfa realized that there was little she could do to save the poisoned Kryptonian, judging from the green veins underneath her skin, the Kryptonite was flowing throughout her bloodstream, making it impossible for to separate them via intangibility. _I… I don't know what to do!_ She mentally confessed as her trembling hands squeezed Supergirl's. _What do I do?! I don't know what to do! _Supergirl's eyes were struggling to stay open, and Beacon pleaded as hard as she could for her not give in.

"Kara! Stay with me, please! Just hang on!"

Her attention faltered slightly when she saw strands of both hers and Supergirl's hair began to slowly soar upwards. Then she felt herself getting lighter, Beacon shook her head several times to make sure that it wasn't her brain playing tricks on her. When she realized it was real, she turned her head to see bits of loose stone were beginning to float upwards towards the sky, and then not long after, both Supergirl and herself were being pulled up off the ground. Wait… Wait a second! Last time she checked, Earth's gravity didn't pull up. _What's going…? _Her thought was cut off when she looked up at the sky and saw a wave of white-light wiping out the entire sky.

Suddenly, the slow pull turned into a violent tug, like a sudden hull breach in the vacuum of space. Beacon flailed and strained to reach out and grab hold onto the edge of the long stone bench. As she did her best to maintain her grip against the gust-like current that was pulling on anything and everything, her mind quickly raced back to one thing; _KARA!_ She whipped her head just in time to see Supergirl begin to fly pass her; her severely weakened state prevented her from fighting the white-light that threatened to suck her and everything into nonexistence. The Halfa reached out and caught the blonde before she got out of reach. Their terrified eyes were locked onto each other as they clutched onto each other's wrists like lifelines.

"Hold on! Don't let go!" Beacon barked over the gush of air.

"Like… like I'd… want to." Supergirl retorted weakly.

* * *

Batman had finally managed to lift the roof off his body, and when he emerged back onto the screen, his eyes instantly fell onto the wave of white rabidly replacing the night-sky. Time was literally almost out, but where was Chronos? He whipped his eyes along the Coliseum, and he eventually found him… arguing with his wife?!

"Chronos!" The Dark Knight yelled as he ran to the couple.

Chronos blinked, and then for some reason, smiled. "You _are _good." He complemented before turning to Enid. "Isn't he good?"

"Look at what's happening around you!" Batman spoke again. "Look at the sky!"

The time-travelling warlord looked up and saw the wave of white light continue to erase the entire sky. "Pretty…" Chronos said nonsensically.

"Stay with us, man!" Green Lantern barked as he landed next to Batman. "We've got a problem here!"

Chronos shook his head slightly, and seemed to regain his focus. "Right, you're right; this calls for another approach." He moved his arm to press on his time-belt, but mere inches before making contact, his eyes shifted to the side right as the hyena and Bonk smashed Batman and Green Lantern to the side. "… Or not."

Both heroes groaned and slowly worked their way back to their feet as the two villains that attacked them walked up to them. They all were ready to charge at each other again, when all of a sudden tears of white light began to rip through the ground itself. On pure instinct, Green Lantern created a bubble around himself and Batman, but it proved to be of little help as they, as well as the two Jokerz, were sucked into the tear and weren't seen again.

…

Beacon and Supergirl were holding on for dear life. The force that pulled on them, as well as everything around them was increasing by the second. However, even through all that, the Halfa was able to get a scope of the scene below, and it was grim. Patches of white light were beginning to tear their way completely out of the ground of the entire Coliseum. Worse, there were no signs of her fellow heroes or any of the Jokerz. There was only Chronos, and his wife. The Halfa and the Kryptonian locked eyes again as the latter spoke. "Wha… What do we do now?"

"I-I have no idea," Beacon confessed, "but I'll think of…" she stopped talking when she heard faint, crumbling sounds. Looking back onto the stone she was holding onto, the Halfa stared in shock when she saw that a large crack had formed in the center, and it was slowly spreading to the rest of the stone.

"The stone's breaking!" She heard Supergirl cry out. Beacon whipped her head back around to look at her. "It's not gonna hold much longer!"

Beacon widened her eyes and felt her heart drop as Supergirl slacked her grip ever-so-slightly. In order to compensate, the Ghost-girl squeezed the blonde's wrist as hard as she could.

"No!" She shouted. "Kara, don't!" Even though her grip was solid, she felt Supergirl's wrist slip out of her hand. Now all they had was a fragile hook of the fingers. Beacon felt her eyes getting wet and her vision became slightly blurred. She tried desperately to hang to Supergirl… to her girlfriend… to the one thing she had left.

"Rachel…" the blonde spoke softly, tears had begun to run down her face too, but her eyes were absolutely radiant. Beacon had to admit it with all of her heart; even though she looked completely ill and had green veins flashing under her skin, Kara was as beautiful as she had ever seen. "I… I…" she spoke again.

In reality, the next moment happened rather quickly, but for Beacon it might as well have lasted forever. She felt her grip falter, then she and Supergirl lost their hold on the other. The Halfa tried to reach for her, but the Kryptonian was already being pulled away from her.

"_KARA!_"

It didn't matter how loud she screamed. Within seconds, Supergirl… Kara, was gone.

* * *

"For Pete's sake, David!" Enid pleaded as she watched everything disappear around her. "The whole universe is being destroyed! Do something!"

Chronos blinked a few times and surveyed his surroundings. "Oh, alright," He sighed with an eye-roll. He pressed the button on his belt, and opened another time-tunnel. Then he kissed Enid on the cheek, and jumped into it. "You'll love me next time!"

Enid had just enough time to widen her eyes at what her husband had just done. Before finally, she too was sucked into the tear.

…

It was over. Everything was gone, or at least, would be soon. Beacon had managed to pull herself back onto solid ground. After bracing her body against the stone, the Halfa curled inward into a tight ball, and just wept endlessly. She had failed. There was no way around it. She failed, _again! _

_This isn't happening…_ she cried in her mind. _This _can't _be happening…_ Thoughts of denial kept invading Beacon's mind as she muttered Kara's name over and over again. Hoping, _begging,_ that in some way, everyone she'd cared about would somehow return to her, and then she would wake up from this nightmare, but she knew it was useless. They weren't coming back, and now it's not just this world that's ending, but _every _world out there, and it was all because… because…

In one, swift motion, Beacon's eyes shot open and honed in on the time-tunnel that Chronos had opened. It was still visible even amongst the sea of blinding white due to its constant flickering. The Halfa steadied her breathing and she eventually stopped sobbing.

Something began to build up in Beacon's eyes; there was a wave of heat that had never been there before… until _now. _While her sobs had stopped, her chest was still heaving as her breathing became more and more heavy. The heat in her eyes was slowly beginning to evaporate her remaining tears as she realized what it meant. At the moment, she wasn't feeling any kind of sorrow, or even grief. No… Now she was feeling completely different… Rage… Pure, rage.

Beacon released her grip on the stone, and shot towards the tunnel with as much speed she could muster. The resulting shockwave caused by her sudden and violent takeoff caused the stone to explode into a pile of dust right before being erased by the wave of white light.

* * *

Once inside the swirling tunnel, Beacon felt herself being whipped around this way and that, but she just straightened her body and willed herself to go faster. It seemed to be doing the trick, because a second later she could see a tiny speck in the distance; the one speck she was looking for. The Halfa propelled herself forward, and soon the speck grew into the shape of Chronos.

"CLINTON!" The man turned around just in time to see Beacon collide with him; the impact caused them to bounce up and down along the tunnel walls.

The Halfa's entire body shook with fury as she clutched both of her hands onto Chronos' front. This was entirely _his _fault! Everything was going fine, but then he had to go and mess it all up! And now everything was gone, Clark, Bruce, Diana, John, Wally, Shayera, and… Kara, were all gone, because of _him!_

"Where do you think you're going?!" she demanded loudly.

The man's eyes shifted to the other end of the tunnel. "To the very beginning." He answered. Then he raised his arms and looked at a point above him. "To where it _allll_ began."

His utterly insane grin only added more fuel to Beacon's rage. After gritting her teeth, the Halfa slapped Chronos right across the face. The sound echoed off the walls as Chrono's eyes fell back onto Beacon's in shock and disbelief; there was a bright red mark on his cheek, and a thin line of blood running down the corner of his mouth. Beacon tightened her grip on his front, and pulled him in until he was inches from her face.

"You better start talking sense, _RIGHT NOW!_" She shouted ferociously. "Or so help me! You won't be talking _ever _AGAIN!" She cocked back her right fist, where it was beginning to glow with bright-blue energy.

Chronos widened his eyes to the size of pool balls, but then he looked away again, and brought his crazy smile back. "It's so… _beautiful…_" he whispered.

"I said…!" Suddenly Beacon's eyes shifted to the end of the time-tunnel, where something that she saw made her confused. At the end was what looked like a massive hand, and a bright, spiraling energy in its palm. "W-What…?"

Everything began to grow brighter around them as they continued to barrel further down the tunnel. As they loomed ever closer to the massive hand, Chronos stretched out his hand to reach for it, giggling like a deranged child. Beacon tried to pull both herself and Chronos away, but the pull was too strong. The two of them continued to head straight towards the end of the tunnel with no brakes.

"_Time out." _A low voice spoke from nowhere.

Everything, including Beacon and Chronos, stopped all at once. The only thing that was left moving was the spiraling energy in the massive hand. Chronos looked up and down the tunnel to trying figure out what happened, but Beacon knew exactly what happened. Her ghost sense went off when a large clock hand appeared and made one clockwise revolution, and then in a flash of light, the elderly form of Clockwork appeared before them.

"… Clockwork…" Beacon breathed with wide eyes.

Chronos, however, didn't mutter a word. Instead he just looked up and down at the ghost.

"David Clinton," Clockwork addressed him, "by tampering with the time stream, you have set off a chain reaction that is threatening to destroy the fabric of all reality. And your solution of repairing the damage was to jump to the beginning of time; to give youself more power." He finished his sentence as he turned into his child form.

Beacon turned to look at the hand. So that's what the swirling energy was, the Halfa couldn't help but feel relieved that Clockwork had showed up before Chronos became unstoppable. _Wait a second_… she suddenly thought._ If this is the beginning of… everything, then does that mean the hand belongs to…_

Beacon's thoughts were cut off when Chronos finally started to talk. "You think I need to answer to you?" He quipped as he poked a finger onto Clockwork's chest. "You think I couldn't handle it? Well, let me tell you something, _kid_." He spread his arms as if to show off his "mighty" status. "I am… Lord Chronos! The undisputed master of space and time! And I will…"

_Bonk!_

"OW!" Chronos clutched his head after Clockwork hit him with the clock on top of his scepter.

"Enough with your shenanigans!" Clockwork sounded legitimately angry. He turned back into an adult and brought his face right up to Chronos', who was still rubbing his head to relieve the pain. "You think you're the master? Then I know _exactly _what to do with _you_." His eyes glowed blood-red, which made Chronos gulp loudly, Beacon widened her eyes and made a mental note to never make Clockwork upset.

Clockwork slowly backed away and raised his scepter. "Time in!" he declared as he pushed down on the button on the clock. Then in a flash of light, all three of them had disappeared.

* * *

**Gotham city, Suburbs**

The night was calm and the neighborhood was quiet. Things were just… normal, or at least they appeared to be. Inside one of the houses, a married couple was having a very heated argument. Apparently the wife had told her husband that he was useless, and a loser, and in her own words, told him that he "would never amount to anything."

"You worthless, good-for-nothing, wretched waste-of-space!" Enid Clinton yelled at her husband. "You invent a time-machine and couldn't think of anything useful to do with it?!"

Her husband glared at her. "I can think of one thing." David Clinton retorted as he pressed a button on his belt. There was a flash of bright light, and then….

"You worthless, good-for-nothing, wretched waste-of-space!" Enid yelled again, having no idea that she'd already said it. "You invent a time-machine and couldn't think of anything useful to do with it?!"

"I can think of one thing." David repeated. Then he pressed the button on his belt again, and there was another flash of light.

"You worthless, good-for-nothing….!"

"Clockwork, this is the tenth time they've done this." Beacon commented as she and Clockwork stood in the middle of the street. They were able to watch the scene thanks to a projection provided by ghost of time.

"And that is how he will remain." replied Clockwork. He waved his hand and the projection disappeared, "for the rest of time."

With that, the two ghosts took off side by side into the night sky. After a couple of minutes, Beacon turned to Clockwork. "So, the beginning of time," She began, "that's when you were born, wasn't it?"

"Perhaps," Clockwork replied.

"What do you mean?" The Halfa asked, sounding confused. "Don't you remember?"

Clockwork stopped, and then turned to Beacon. "No one remembers being born, Rachel. They just know that they were."

"Alright, alright." Beacon accepted. Then, as she looked into the city in the distance, a question popped into her mind. "So, everything's back to normal," she turned to Clockwork, who had turned into an old man, "right?"

The elderly ghost grinned. "Everything is as it should be," He said, "but don't just take my word for it." He held out his hand, expecting Beacon to give something to him.

The Halfa blinked in confusion, and then remembered what she had around her neck. "Oh!" she took off Clockwork's medallion and handed back to him, but as he reached for it, she pulled back suddenly. "Wait, I have another question."

Clockwork seemed unfazed as he turned into a child, and said, "of course you do."

"How did I get here?" Beacon asked. "I mean, how did I end up in this universe?"

Clockwork stared at her for a couple of seconds before looking at the Halfa straight in the eye. "The answer is me; _I _sent you here."

Beacon's eyes shot wide open at his answer. "Wha… _You _did that!?" Her mind was racing to comprehend what she had just been told. "But… then that means… that means the tip that Dani got… was from you!"

The corner of Clockwork's mouth jerked up slightly. "Yes, I was the one that dropped the hint." He said simply.

Beacon shook her head to clear it, before continuing, "… O-okay… not that I'm angry, but why send me to a different universe? And why didn't you tell me?"

Clockwork frowned. "What good would it have done?" He questioned as he shifted into an adult. "You lost your entire family, Rachel. What I did was give you a second chance, and ask yourself this: where would you be if you had stayed, hm?"

Beacon's face fell at the question. She had no idea what would've happened if she'd stayed in her home, and honestly, she didn't even want to think about it. "Fine, I guess you're right." She said softly.

There was a moment of silence before Clockwork moved closer and put a hand on her shoulder. "If I may, I know your family would be proud of you, and they can at least rest easy knowing that you are continuing to live on."

Beacon put up a sad smile and then wrapped her arms around Clockwork, the ghost blinked for a second before slowly returning the embrace. "Now go. Go back to your new family. I'm sure they'll worry soon if you don't."

The Halfa chuckled slightly as they broke apart. "W-Will I see you again?" she asked innocently.

"I'm sure," Clockwork replied with a wink, "in time."

Beacon rolled her eyes at the pun, but smiled nevertheless. Then she gave the medallion back to Clockwork. The second she parted contact with it, all she saw was a flash of light, and then nothing.

* * *

**Watchtower**

Rachel exhaled sharply as she looked around with wide eyes; it looked like she was back in the hall of the Watchtower. She looked at her hands and realized she was still in her ghost form. She was back, or at least she thought she was back, how could she be sure?

"Rach?"

She gasped when she heard the voice from behind her. After whipping around, Rachel felt her breath catch in her throat. Standing there before her was… Kara, looking confused, and a little worried.

"Rach? Are you okay?" Kara asked. "I was talking, and then you… you started acting weird."

Rachel didn't mutter a single word, she just stared into the other with her eyes wide, and her mouth parted in shock. Then, as fast as she could, the Halfa flung herself at Kara, and wrapped her into a tight hug. She felt her own body tremble as she sobbed into her girlfriend's shoulder.

"W-was it something I said?" Kara questioned, still sounding utterly perplexed. "All I said was we should go to Spring Break."

So she didn't remember! She didn't remember all things they had just gone through. Not the mention who and what they had lost along the way.

"No, no, it's alright, I'll tell you later." Rachel said softly, they broke apart and she wiped her tears away. Then she looked at Kara with a grin her face. "So, Spring Break, huh? Sounds like fun, let's do it."

Kara widened her eyes. "Really?" Rachel nodded and Kara leapt into the air like a little girl, screaming with pure joy. "Awesome! I'll go call Barb right away!" After giving Rachel a quick kiss, Kara ran down to the hallway using her super-speed.

Rachel turned towards the window, and gazed down upon the glowing marble of the planet Earth. She couldn't help but breathe a happy sigh when she realized that Clockwork was right.

Everything was as it should be.

* * *

**A/N: See, the thing able time-travel is… it can get really confusing sometimes, and can be even more confusing when it comes to writing about it. So Clockwork showed up. I figured since this was a time-travel episode, it was pretty much a requirement to include the "Master of Time". **

**Also, if you're a college student, please don't hate me because of Rachel was hating on the people hitting Miami Beach. Please…? Pretty Please?!**

**On another note: Jaguar, thank you for getting back to me so quickly. You read and type fast!**

**So anyway… I hope you've enjoyed the read, and once again thank you for all the views faves, follows, and reviews.**

**Free feel to send me feedback. I see you all in the next chapter!.**


	20. In-between Chapter 6

**Hello my fellow Fanfiction ****enthusiasts... **

**Sorry this update was so late. I got stuck between life, school, and a case of the Writer's Block.**

**With that being said though, I hope you will enjoy this next one.**

Beacon of Justice

In-between Chapter 6

The founding Leaguers approved Rachel and Kara's request for time off with relatively little fuss. However, as they expected, they were still required to have their communicators on them at all times. Therefore they could be called into action if need be. Shortly afterwards, the Halfa and Kryptonian both teleported back to their respective homes, and immediately started packing for their trip.

Rachel was no more than fifteen minutes into gently folding her clothes and stowing them inside her backpack, when suddenly she saw, out of the corner of her eye, a light flash from downstairs. A second later, Kara's voice rang from the living room below.

"Rachel?" She called. "Are you up there?"

"Yep," the Halfa called back. The millisecond after the word came out of her mouth; there was a _whoosh_ as Kara rushed into her bedroom, wearing a plain T-shirt a pair of blue jeans, and white sneakers. On her back was a simple brown knapsack. .

"You sure are taking your time." The blond Kryptonian remarked.

Rachel stopped packing and shot Kara a look. "Well, _sorry_ for not being able to pack faster than a speeding bullet," the Halfa jabbed with clear sarcasm. "Besides," she continued as she put her last folded shirt into her backpack, "I was just about done before you barged in."

"Alright, alright, fine." Kara conceded as she shrugged her pack off her shoulders and plopped herself onto Rachel's bed.

Then something in the closet caught her eye, lying on the floor in the closet was a gorgeous, medium-blue, two-piece bikini. Kara's wild imagination instantly brought a bright grin to her face. She hopped off the bed, and snatched the swimwear up before quickly turning back to Rachel.

"Hey!" She called cheerfully. "You should bring this along."

Rachel looked up to see what Kara was talking about, and when she did, the Halfa blinked in confusion. "But I already packed a bikini."

"But _this_ would look so hot on you." Kara argued as she waved the bathing suit around for emphasis. "C'mon, _please…._" Her eyes grew huge, and Rachel had to use practically every ounce of her will to resist its effects. She pursed her lips and tucked her chin into her fingers for a moment. Then she grinned, and made her way over to Kara.

"You wanna know something?" she asked. "I think _that_-" she gently placed both of her hands on Kara's hips, "-would look better on _you_."

Kara blinked for a second, but then smirked. "Oh, you'd think so, huh?" she retorted softly as she wrapped her arms around Rachel's neck. "Then maybe we could take turns wearing it."

"Maybe we could." Rachel moved in, and softly pressed her lips onto Kara's.

A spark seemed to ignite as Rachel felt a warm breath escape Kara's nostrils. Shots of pleasurable electricity coursed through Rachel's body, and her hands traced around Kara's body before stopping at her lower back. Rachel then felt Kara's lips part slightly; eagerly welcoming her to deepen their kiss. The Halfa took full advantage of this opportunity, and pressed forward. However, Kara seemed to have lost her footing, and they both fell over right on top of the bed, breaking them apart and causing them both to gasp sharply.

After letting out a chorus of giggles, Rachel found herself staring into Kara's crystal-like blue eyes as if she was gazing upon them for the very first time. Kara looked absolutely stunning. Her bright smile, as well as flushed cheeks only seemed to add to her elegance. Rachel could very much just lay here and admire her girlfriend forever.

Rachel slowly brushed the few loose strands of hair from Kara's face, and was all set to go in for another kiss. However, she stopped when she heard a beep come from her pocket. Rachel breathed a sad sigh as she pulled back and took out her phone. After glancing at the time, she turned back to Kara. "I think we should head out."

"… Okay…" Kara agreed with a disappointed look. Then her giddy smile returned to her face as she sat up on the bed. "So you're still packing that two-piece?"

"Sure," Rachel answered, a smile also on her face, "and there's something I want to talk to you about, Kara."

"Shoot."

"I know we'll be getting a nice break," Rachel commented, "but since we're bringing Barb along, we… we should do our best to… y'know… control ourselves. The last thing I want is for her to feel like the third wheel."

Kara pressed her lips into a line for a moment, and then she let out a slow sigh. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." She admitted.

Rachel broadened her smile, and gently planted a kiss on Kara's forehead. Then she hopped off the bed, stuffed the two-piece bikini that had fallen on the floor into her backpack, and hoisted it up around her shoulders.

"C'mon, let's head out." The Halfa said, turning back to Kara. The blond Kryptonian grinned brightly as she too got off the bed, and retrieved her knapsack. With everything set, the pair of them walked out of the room.

* * *

The professionally dressed Barbra Gordon opened the door to her small studio apartment. After locking the door, she placed her bag onto the coffee table, and collapsed on the couch. She stretched her arms out and breathed a huge sigh of relief, she knew full well that as of right now, she was no longer bound to academics for at least a couple weeks, and as a plus, she was fully confident that she'll receive the 4.0 that she was expecting every single semester.

Her thoughts shifted into the other matter on her agenda; both Kara and Rachel were due to arrive any second, and then they were going to embark on their Spring Break vacation. Truth be told, Barbara was very enthusiastic about spending some quality, and ultimately, fun time with her best friend and new friend. Due to both of their busy schedules, Barbara had not had much contact with Rachel outside of a few text messages here and there. Therefore, when Kara told her it was going to be the three of them on Spring Break together, she could not help but feel excited.

Barbra turned her eyes the corner of her apartment, and her eyes fell upon the bag that she had packed for the trip. She then realized that they did not really have a plan as to where they were going to be going, and when she asked Kara about it, all she told her was that they would go over it when they all meet up. Since then, Barb had thought up a few ideas, and was eager to share them with the other girls.

She sat up straight and reached for the TV remote. She pressed the power button, and the flat-screen from across the room lit up. A second later, it displayed the Gotham News Channel, since she moved away to attend college, Barbara made the extra effort to keep up with any events that occured in her hometown.

Currently, the news segment was covering an auction for flowers, very rare and expensive flowers. The reporter was trying her best to make the event sound at least remotely interesting, but in the end, Barbara knew it was just a bunch of rich folks bidding on plants. Moreover, given her other line of work, Barb was not one bit surprised see that Bruce Wayne was _not_ amongst the bidders.

She turned her head after she heard a knock on her door. After hitting the power button on the TV remote, the redhead got off the couch, and made her way to the door. The second she opened it, there was a blur and then a crushing pain coursed through her ribs.

"… _Kara_...!" The redhead wheezed as her lungs began to flatten. "… _Can't… breathe…! _"

"Oops, sorry!" The blond Kryptonian exclaimed before instantly letting go. Barbara stumbled slightly on her feet until Kara steadied her with feathery hold of her arms.

Rachel, who stood behind Kara, let out a slight chuckle, "It's great to see you, Barb." She stepped forward, and _lightly _pulled her into a hug. "How've things been?"

The redhead's lips curled up into a warm smile when they broke apart. "Things are good, come in." she replied as she gestured her friends inside.

Rachel took a second to survey the apartment; while it was admittedly small, it still felt quite roomy and tidy, mostly likely due to Barbara making the effort to organize the place. On top of that, there was a great view of the city through the various windows. "Nice place you got here," The Halfa commented, "it feels a lot bigger than it actually is."

Barb's smile broadened slightly. "Thanks, but overall it's not much." She confessed. "Bruce offered me a nicer place to stay, but I turned him down. I wanted my college experience to be… my own."

Rachel felt her respect for the redhead rise; Bruce Wayne could have easily paid for her entire college career, but instead Barb chose to be independent, she chose to put forth the extra effort to get pass this stage of her life. There was no doubt in Rachel's mind that when Barbara succeeded, it would be that much more gratifying for her.

"So, you all set, Babs?" Kara chimed in.

In response, the redhead leisurely walked over to her bag, and gently hoisted it onto her shoulder. "Yep," she said as she walked back to them. "I'm good to go, but do we even know where we're going or what is it that we're doing?"

"Don't look at me…" Rachel shrugged. "It's been Kara that has been making this shindig happen."

The Kryptonian's face lit up like the sun. "I just want all of us to have some fun!" she insisted. "I've been thinking that we could hit a couple beaches, go sightseeing, go camping, or maybe even make our way into some clubs."

"You _do realize_ that _we_-" The Halfa jerked a finger between her and Kara."-aren't old enough to get into any of the good ones, right?"

Kara snorted and waved her hand in dismissal. "Oh _plleeaase._ Babs can whip something up with her eyes-closed and one hand tied behind her back, and even if that doesn't work. We have you. So we can always have you sneak us in."

Rachel narrowed her eyes dangerously as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Kara Kent." She began in a serious tone. "Are you _actually_ suggesting that I use my powers for ill purposes?"

"Oh c'mon, Rach, don't be such a stickler." The blond Kryptonian remarked with a cold smirk. "Besides, it's not like we're going be using your powers for anything serious."

Rachel slowly shook her head back and forth, while Barbara gave a small chuckle before speaking up again. "Before we do anything though, I'd like to head back to Gotham first."

She elaborated when the other two girls turned to her. "So I could say hi to my Dad, Bruce, Tim, and Alfred after not seeing them for these past few months… _If _you two don't mind."

Rachel and Kara eyed each other for a second, and then simultaneously shrugged before turning back to Barbara. "Sure, we're fine with that." Rachel answered.

As the redhead grinned with appreciation, Kara pressed the button on the communicator in her ear, and said, "Watchtower; three for a teleport to Gotham City." Barely a second after submitting her request, beams of light flashed around them. When the room dimmed back to its normal level of lighting, the three girls were gone.

* * *

**Gotham City, Wayne Manor**

The girls reappeared in a flash inside the massive interior of the mansion. Kara took a moment to revel in the sight; she had never been in Bruce Wayne's home, and therefore could not help but think of how much Batman's persona completely differed from the atmosphere surrounding this house. Her train of thought ended when an elderly butler walked out from a doorway, and approached them.

"Ah, Miss Gordon," Alfred addressed with a tone of dignity and professionalism. "Welcome back, though I must say it is a surprise to see you so soon; given the distance from here to your university."

"Hey, Alfred!" the redhead said as she ran up to the butler and embraced him. "I took a shortcut back."

"Naturally…" Alfred replied with a sly smile as they broke apart. Then his eyes fell upon the two other girls. "And it is a pleasure to see you again, Miss Rachel. I trust that you are well."

"I'm doing great. Thanks, Alfred." The Halfa said with a smile.

Finally, Alfred's eyes found Kara. "And last but not least, you must be Miss Kent, AKA, the Supergirl. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"It's nice to meet you too." replied Kara with a small wave of her hand.

Alfred gave her a gentle nod before turning back to face Barbara. "Now, how may I be of service, Miss Gordon?"

"I just wanted to come back and say hi," She answered, "and maybe head down to the Cave." She paused, and scanned the house for a second. "Where're Bruce and Tim?"

"Master Bruce is currently attending an important business transaction meeting in Madrid," The butler informed, "while Master Tim is still immersed in his studies at school."

"Alright, thanks." Barb nodded.

The redhead walked away, and Kara and Rachel swiftly followed. The trio eventually stopped in front of a grandfather clock. Rachel felt a smile etch across her face at the sight of it; the memories of her very first night in this world came rushing back to her. Barbara opened the cover of the clock face, and moved the hour hand to the twelfth hour. A light sound of a gong sounded as the entire clock seemed to protrude out slightly like a door swinging on its hinges. Barbara pulled it open even further, and their eyes fell upon the downward tunnel that led to the famous Batcave.

* * *

Since Rachel had been in the Dark Knight's headquarters on several past occasions, she did not really think much of it. Kara, on the other hand, was utterly captivated and found herself scanning her eyes through every inch of the dark cave.

"This place really seems true to Batman's nature." She remarked.

Rachel gave a small chuckle. "You know something? I think I said something along those lines too when I first came here."

"Well, this place may be dark and ominous," Barbara chimed in as she too looked at the cave with nostalgia on her face, "but it's like a second home to me."

When they reached the main floor, Barbara quickly turned to her right, and her eyes found the display of various costumes of Gotham City's crime fighters. The redhead strolled towards the display until she stopped directly in front of her own costume. She breathed a gentle sigh as she studied the overlap between both her suit and her own reflection. She never realized how much she had missed being Batgirl during her time in college. She had forgotten the rush she would feel whenever she would swing from building to building on her grapple, or whenever she would drive her fist into the face of a well-deserving criminal, in Barbara's mind, there was literally _nothing_ in the world that compared to being a hero.

Slowly, Barbra opened the glass case and retrieved the costume. She took a moment to run her fingers over the Kevlar-enforced fabric, before Kara's voice coming from behind her jolted her out of the task.

"Y'know, Babs." The redhead turned to face her two friends, who were both beaming up at her. "We can go out for a quick patrol if you want."

Barb had to blink for a second before the words sank in. After expressing biggest grin she had all day, Barbara opened her mouth as if to speak, but was then interrupted when she saw the color red flash on the massive screen on the Bat-computer. Without a moment's hesitation, the three girls ran to the console, where Barbara took a seat and began typing furiously on the keyboard.

After the red flashes were gone, they found themselves staring at a map of Gotham city. The screen showed a blinking circle inside a big, rectangular patch of land. Barbara turned on the spot, sprang out of the chair, and gave both Rachel and Kara a stern look.

"Suit up!" She commanded as she began to change into her Batsuit.

The two girls nodded. Rachel did not move a single muscle as a bright-blue ring appeared around her midsection, and then split off into two as they travel up and down her figure. When the rings disappeared, Rachel had turned into the hero known as Beacon.

Kara reached into the pack behind her, and quickly pulled out a white T-shirt. Then suddenly, the Kryptonian moved at speeds all but incomprehensible to the human eye, her body was no more than a series of blurs that seemed to move in and out of focus. When Kara reemerged, she was in her Supergirl outfit tucking in the last bits of her civilian clothing inside her backpack.

After Barbara pulled her cowl over her head, the three heroines made their way to the vehicle platform. Batgirl hopped onto her Batcycle, and found herself raising another smirk as she heard the roar of the engine. She revved hard on the throttle, and the vehicle sped off down the long, dark tunnel that leads to the exit of the cave.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Beacon asked as she flew towards Batgirl's left.

"Something's going down at Grant Park," Batgirl answered, keeping her eyes straight forward, "and judging from what's being held there, I have a pretty good idea about who's behind it."

"So who _is _behind it?" Supergirl said as she flew at Batgirl's right.

"You'll find out soon enough." With that, Batgirl revved the throttle even harder right as the three of them approached the light at the end of the tunnel.

* * *

**Gotham City, Grant Park**

The people dressed in high-end formal wear were running for their dear lives. They had all gathered in Gotham because they wanted a chance to go home with some of the rarest flora in the entire world. Unfortunately, the entire event was ruined when two entirely insane women appeared, and started wreaking havoc. Although, the people were too busy trying to escape, they were just able to take in some distinct features. One woman had long red hair and seemed to have pale, practically white, skin. She was admittedly very beautiful, but in no way, shape, or form did that mask how terrifying she was. The other woman was wearing an outfit reminiscing to that of a medieval jester. Her entire face covered with white make-up, and her mask hid the rest of her features, but above all that, her laughter alone was enough to send chills down the people's spines.

Local police had arrived to handle the situation, but after establishing a perimeter, none of the officers were willing to approach any further. Gotham's law enforcement had become well accustomed to dealing with freaks; therefore, as a result, no one wanted to become an unnecessary casualty, especially when the perpetrators were the infamous duo of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.

Poison Ivy removed her lips from a man's cheek, which left a perfect imprint of her dark-red lipstick. The man's expression was completely blank, as if every single ounce of his awareness was gone. Ivy gave a simple flick of her wrist, and the man blankly stalked away. As Ivy leaned back on the massive plant root, three more men, all of which had the same lipstick imprints on their cheeks, approached her. In each of their arms were pots of the rare and exotic flowers that were originally being used for the auction, and were now being gathered for her own amusement. The men gently laid the flowers down by Ivy's feet, and immediately walked away. The paled-skinned woman picked up a flower, which was a mix of pink, yellow, and orange, and resembled a paper windmill. She held it close to her nostrils, and inhaled slowly. She exhaled a happy sigh as the floral aroma stimulated her nasal senses.

"Ah… Plumeria Rubra…" Ivy muttered under her breath. "Oh, and this one's just starting to bloom."

She placed the pot down and made to pick up another. At that moment, Harley back-flipped onto her patch of root and looked at her partner with a confused expression. "Red, tell me again," she began, "why are we stealing a bunch of flowers?"

Ivy shot her a look of annoyance. "For the umpteenth time, Harl," She replied rather crossly. "These flowers here are some of the rarest on Earth," She reached down and picked a pot of blue roses, "and all these people want to do is buy just so they could say they have them." For the second time, she sniffed the flowers, and exhaled a happy sigh. "They don't even realize the potential that's in these flowers."

Harley arched an eyebrow before crouching down next to another flower, and flicking one of its white petals. "But what are these even good for?"

Before Ivy got an answer, there was a loud whirring sound, and a split-second later, Harley jumped upon seeing a batarang embedded itself halfway into the ground. The two criminal vixens turned their heads to see Batgirl on her Batcycle skid to a halt a few yards before them. Immediately after, the forms of Beacon and Supergirl gently floated down right beside her.

"Alright, you two. It's over." Batgirl declared as she hopped off the cycle. "Now why don't you give up and make this a lot easier."

Ivy blinked for a second, but as the shock wore off, she smirked and turned to Harley. "Well, what do you know, Harl. We've been graced with not one, not two, but three heroines."

"Looks that way," Harley replied, a creepy smile etched onto her face as well, "y'know, if we take them down, our rep will shoot through the roof."

"I wouldn't count on it." Supergirl jabbed as she clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes. As retaliation, Harley stuck her tongue out, and made obscene hand gestures at them. _Really? _Beacon thought. _What is this? Kindergarten?_

"… Anyway…" Ivy said. She clapped twice, and almost instantly, the heroines found themselves surrounded by a swarm of men. Upon closer inspection, Beacon noticed that all of them had a dark lipstick mark on their faces, and all of them had very blank and creepy expressions.

"Batgirl, care to give more info here?" the Halfa asked as the three of them stood back to back.

"They're under Ivy's control." Batgirl quickly replied. "Try your best to not hurt them too much."

"Don't worry, I'm focusing on_ them_." Supergirl told them. Before the other girls could ask, she took off towards Ivy and Harley. However, before she could get close, a pair of hyena-shaped plant creatures leapt out of nowhere and pounced on the charging Kryptonian. Supergirl crashed hard back onto the ground, and barely had enough time to raise her forearms to protect herself from the hyenas' 'jaws'.

Meanwhile, Batgirl and Beacon were making quick work of the men under Ivy's mind-control. Since the Halfa was told _not_ to cause serious harm to them, the Halfa resorted to just using her fists; easily knocking them out with one or two punches. After knocking another one to the ground, Beacon noticed a shadow hanging over her; she turned up, and saw, to her horror, the sharp point of a thick vine flying straight towards her head. Instinctively, Beacon leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding the plant as it dug its way into the ground. Barely a second later, the vine blasted out of the ground again and shot right towards her, although this time the Halfa was ready; she raised her arm, and sent an energy blast at the advancing vine. It was a successful hit as the blue energy burned off the sharp burn, but the majority of the vine was still flying at her. Suppressing a frustrated groan, Beacon spun and swirled in the air, as well as firing more energy blasts in order to avoid being hit.

Batgirl had just successfully dealt with her opponent, when all of a sudden something flashed out of the corner of her eye. She turned, and ducked right as a giant mallet swung right at the spot where her head had just been.

With a fierce grunt, Harley Quinn swung her mallet at Batgirl again, but Batgirl was able to back away from the blow. As Harley lifted the mallet over her head, Batgirl seized the advantage, and charged forward. She clocked Harley right in the jaw, causing her to lose her grip on her weapon. After stumbling back a few steps, the jester shook her head to clear it, and went into a fighting stance as she glared at Batgirl.

"Like I said; why don't you give up, Harley?" the heroine demanded. "These things never go well for you."

Harley looked away for a second, and contorted her face to give off a sense of deep concentration, but then she gave a sort of lazy shrug, and turned back to face Batgirl. "Hmm, nah…" she declined. "Who knows, _Brat-_girl? Maybe this time will be different."

Batgirl shook her head. "I seriously doubt it," Then she dropped into a fighting stance of her own, "but if that's how you want to play it…_ fine._"

With their conversation all but over, the two women charged at each other.

* * *

Supergirl's annoyance level was threatening to burst as the plant hyenas kept their jaws clamped down on her forearms. The creatures flayed their heads back and forth like their rabid, real-life counterparts. As she used her superior strength to steady her arms, the Girl of Steel narrowed her eyes, and almost immediately, the back of the hyenas burst into flame. The plants unclamped their jaws, and let out a loud wail as if they were actually in pain. As the flames continued to spread, the plants eventually lost their shape and resembled nothing but large, flaying vines.

"My babies!" Poison Ivy cried out. After watching her plants become nothing but ash, she turned, and declared daggers at Supergirl. "And here I thought you wanted to save the planet."

"I _do_ want to save the planet," Supergirl replied irritably, "but from the likes of _you_."

Ivy narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Then on behalf of Mother Nature herself," the plant-themed villainess said, "let me just say, _thank you._" She raised her closed fist and brought it close to her mouth. Although, before she could open it to reveal the contents in her palm, there was a loud whoosh and then Ivy realized that her hand was being clamped shut.

"I don't think so," Supergirl declared, "that trick won't work on me again."

Ivy tried all she could to wiggle her hand out of the Kryptonian's completely solid grasp, but found that she could not no matter how hard she tried. Slowly, Ivy felt the bones in her hand beginning to collapse due to the constant pressure. She grunted with pain as she sunk to her knees.

"Care to give up _now?_ " Supergirl questioned the writhing woman. She raised her fist and was all set to bring it down on Ivy's face in case she still had a thought of resisting. However, what happened next caught the Girl of Steel by surprise; Poison Ivy slowly turned her head up to look at her, and on her face was a very clear and conniving smirk. "What are you smiling about?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Ivy answered coldly, "my babies don't like seeing… people laying their paws on me."

Before Supergirl could make a demand for any further information, there was a faint rumbling coming from under her feet. She blinked in confusion before looking down at the ground. All of a sudden, a crack began to emerge in the dirt, and before Supergirl could react, bundles of roots burst from the ground and coil themselves tightly around nearly every inch of her body. A cry of shock erupted from her throat as she lost her grip on Poison Ivy. She began pulling and twisting against her restraints, and although she had found some success at breaking a few roots, they were immediately replaced with countless others. Thinking quickly, she aimed her heat-vision at the roots, and like the hyenas from before they burst into flame. As Supergirl was now free to take a step forward, she took a moment to make sure that _all _the roots were set ablaze. She wanted to ensure that nothing else was going to surprise her at the last second. Therefore, she could now focus her attention back to…

"Pucker up, Supergirl."

The Kryptonian turned towards the sound of Poison Ivy's voice, but the last thing that she saw was her pale face coming towards her… before feeling a set of lips press against her own.

* * *

Harley was struggling for oxygen as she pulled against the forearm constricting her throat. The jester looked a little worse for wear with the small rips on her outfit, and parts of her white face were replaced by black and purple bruises. However, she was quite determined, and kept trying to break free from Batgirl's hold, but it was firmly locked in and any movement just meant more constriction.

"That's… enough… Quinn." Batgirl muttered through gritted teeth. She was using a considerable amount of strength in her attempt to seduce the jester, but she was relentless in her struggle. "Stop making it… so hard… for… _yourself._" Pulling out all the stops, Batgirl tightened her grip even more, and pushed Harley's neck harder against her forearm.

The world began to tunnel inward around Harley as she wheezed and gagged for the precious oxygen that Batgirl was forbidding her to have. One of her arms fell limply to her side as she felt her legs beginning to collapse from under her. As her eyes began to droop, she looked around desperately for anything she can use as a last ditch effort. She found nothing useful… although what she did see… was Ivy and Supergirl getting a little too close to each other.

Like a light in a dark room, everything reappeared around Harley, and with a sly smirk on her face, she pointed and said hoarsely. "Hey, looks like something's up with your 'super-friend'."

Without any thought, Batgirl moved her eyes over, and what she saw made her gasp and widen her eyes in pure shock. "Supergirl? Ivy?" she mumbled. She felt something hard slam against the side of her face, making her see stars and lose her hold around Harley. She never even realized that she had slacked her grip, the scene with Supergirl and Ivy must have _really _surprised her.

Before Batgirl's vision had even begin to return, Harley rushed in and punched her across the face, before quickly following with a jumping kick to her left cheek. Batgirl yelled in pain as she toppled over, and once she was on the ground, she spat out a couple specks of blood. As she was gasping for breath, Batgirl felt herself being pulled onto her back, and felt vice-like limbs around her waist and neck, firmly squeezing the life out of her.

"My, my, how the tables have turned, huh _Scat-for-brains?_ " Harley mocked as she locked in her hold. Even as Batgirl tried twisting in many directions to escape, with both of them being on the ground, it was practically impossible. "I'll be taking _this,_" Harley continued. Batgirl heard something click, and then her utility belt was pulled away from her. The redhead's vision was starting to blur as more and more oxygen was squeezed out of her body, and with her gadgets now out of reach, she could not think of any means to break free.

Without warning, Batigirl felt Harley's constricted limbs vanish and she fell onto the grass below. She inhaled a huge breath of air, and coughed horribly loudly. As she massaged her sore throat, her brain tried to put together what had happened; one second Harley was on the verge of suffocating her, and then she was just… gone.

Batgirl heard something off in the distance; she tilted her head, and saw Harley lying, a few feet away, on her side. Curiously, she was curled into an extremely tight ball, and was shivering violently. That was when it hit her; Beacon must have swooped in, and pulled Harley away from her using her intangibility. Batgirl breathed a slow sigh, that's the second time the Halfa had saved her sorry butt, she'll have to thank her after all this… Wait... there was still… _Kara!_

Batgirl bolted right up, a part of her immediately regretting it as all the blood rushing to her head made her vision fuzzy, but through all that, she could make out Beacon flying straight to where Ivy and Supergirl was.

* * *

Right as Ivy stepped away from Supergirl, Beacon rammed her shoulder into her at full speed, sending her flying across the lawn. Although lucky for her, a thick root rose from underneath the ground, and caught her.

However, Beacon was not paying attention to that, instead, she was focusing on Supergirl, who has not moved since Ivy touched her with her lips. "Supergirl?" she said, her voice filled with worry. With one simple glance, Beacon knew Supergirl was not alright, although her overall skin had paled slightly, it was her face that was the most telling. The Kryptonian's eyes looked blank and glazed over, not to mention there were also dark circles under her eyelids. Beacon turned her gaze to her lips, and gasped when she saw that they had turned a very dark, nearly black shade. In addition, Beacon could actually see tiny specks of some glowing green material.

"Kryptonite…" she muttered under her breath. She whipped her head around to see Ivy approach them. The thick vine that had cushioned her fall was carrying the villain. Heat began to rise inside Beacon as she clenched her fists and glared at the pale woman. "What did you do to her?" She demanded.

For a second, Ivy did not answer, but then she raised a wicked smirk, and spoke. "Supergirl… Attack."

"Wha…?" Before Beacon could even finish forming the word, her sensory went crazy as she felt something speed in from behind. Whipping around quickly, she had just enough time to see the furious expression on Supergirl's face, before she struck her in the cheek.

After letting out an agonizing grunt, Beacon collapsed onto the ground, clutching her burning and throbbing cheek with both of her hands. As the pain caused her eyes to water, she gazed up to see Supergirl standing over her, and saw the clear look of fury on her face.

"Supergirl," Beacon cried, "What're you doing?"

The Kryptonian did not say a word, instead she raised both her fists, and brought them down hard straight at Beacon, the Halfa widened her eyes, and on pure instinct, phased through the ground. Supergirl's fists slammed onto the earth, sending dirt and dust flying in every direction, and leaving a decent sized crater to boot.

As Beacon resurfaced, her brain was working hard to deduce what had just happened; she wanted to know why Supergirl, her partner, had attacked her. The Halfa moved her gaze from the Kryptonian to the smirking redhead directly behind her. The answer was so obvious; this was Ivy's doing.

"What have you done with Supergirl?" Beacon barked a second time.

Ivy let out a light snort before answering. "You know, sweetie, for someone who calls herself 'Beacon', you really aren't _that_ bright." The pale woman raised her hand, and snapped her fingers. The second the sound left Ivy's fingers, Supergirl shot towards Beacon at nearly blinding speeds, and was poised to beat her senseless. It was at that moment that things became clear to Beacon; what Ivy had done, Supergirl was now under her control.

Once again, Beacon found herself diving out of the way right before Supergirl's fist slammed onto the ground. She rolled back to her feet, but again, Supergirl immediately closed the gap between them. The Halfa had no time to escape, and therefore resorted to raising her left forearm to block Supergirl's attack. When their arms made contact, a shockwave exploded through their surrounding area. Beacon gasped as she felt pain course through her raised limb, but she managed to fight through it and dodge Supergirl's next strike.

"Supergirl, please!" she pleaded desperately as the Kryptonian pressed on with her attack. "I don't want to fight you!" Unfortunately, Beacon's words were not able to get through to Supergirl. She threw another punch towards the Halfa, but luckily for her, she was able to stop it by catching Supergirl's wrist. While it was not enough to falter the mind-controlled heroine's attack, Beacon was able to stop Supergirl's second attack by catching her fist.

For a few seconds, the two girls just stood there, gazing into each other's eyes; although, there was only one pair that seemed to be actually _seeing_. "Kara," Beacon whispered as she pushed hard to keep her hold on her girlfriend, "Kara, it's _me_. Please, snap out of it!"

She watched as Supergirl blinked very slowly, and then felt her muscles slack, but barely a second later, Supergirl smacked Beacon right on the forehead with her own.

"_AH!"_

Beacon lost her grip on Supergirl and she stumbled backwards. Right as she started clutching the spot where she had been hit, she felt another hard blow to her midsection, making her grunt loudly before sinking to her knees. She toppled over on her side, shaking against the agony that was coursing through her body. Although her vision had become blurred, Beacon moved her eyes up until she found Supergirl, whose eyes had begun to glow red. "… _K-Kara…_" she breathed with great strain.

A loud whistle sounded and the red in Supergirl's eyes instantly vanished. "Supergirl!" Beacon heard Ivy call out. "Leave her; we're getting out of here." Without even a second glance towards Beacon, Supergirl turned, and walked away. When she met up with Ivy and Harley, the jester raised an eyebrow at her partner.

"Care to explain something here, Red?"

"Later, Harl." Ivy declared as she held a pot of flowers in each hand. "Now grab a pot and let's get out of here."

Harley blinked for a second, still looking confused, but then she shrugged, wrapped Batgirl's utility belt around her shoulder, and picked up another pot of flowers. "I'm with ya, Red." Harley said with a wicked smile. "Let's make like the Red Sea and spl-"

"That pun wasn't funny the _first _time you said it." Ivy interrupted harshly. After watching her partner express a sad pout, she turned to Supergirl, who was standing behind the two of them with the same blank expression. "Be a dear, and lift us out of here, would you?" She asked in a terrifyingly sweet tone. Supergirl stepped forward, and wrapped one arm around each woman. Then she looked up into the sky, and soared into the air.

"… _N-no_…" Beacon plopped herself up with one arm. She stretched her other, shaking arm, but she was not even close to Ivy, Harley, or Supergirl. All she could do was watch as the Kryptonian, her girlfriend, lift both herself and the criminals into the air, and shoot off towards the distance.

"Beacon!" She turned to see Batgirl kneel down beside her. "Are you alright, are you injured?"

Slowly, the Halfa shook her head, "I'm not injured." She answered softly. Then, with Batgirl's help, she got back to her feet. "Wha-What just happened?" she asked as the shock was replaced with sheer confusion. "How did Ivy put her under her control?"

Batgirl turned away, and quickly scanned the ground. She stopped when her eyes noticed something sticking out in the sea of green grass. She walked over and picked the object; it was a small, golden tube of lipstick. Batgirl clenched her jaw tightly before moving back to Beacon with her discovery.

"Whatever's in this might give us some answers," Batgirl said quickly, "we should get to a more secure place before discussing it."

Beacon gave her a hard look before nodding. "Alright, I'll be right behind you."

After returning the nod, Batgirl bolted back to her Batcycle, and started the engine. She revved hard on the throttle, and both she and the Halfa made their way out of the park.

* * *

**Rooftop, a few blocks away**

"So, why aren't we going back to the Cave?" Beacon questioned as she put Batgirl down, since her utility belt was stolen; it was up to the Halfa to carry the two of them up the building.

"We will," Batgirl answered, then she pulled out the tube of lipstick she found in the park, "but first we should discuss what happened."

Beacon's face fell. "Well, we know that Ivy and Harley got away… with… Kara's help." Her tone sank as she finished her words.

"Which begs the question; how did Ivy manage to turn her?"

At the question, Beacon's eyes immediately fell to the lipstick in Batgirl's hand. "You said it was whatever's on that lipstick, right?"

"Exactly!" Batgirl confirmed, she held the tube closer to her eyes. "Using poison is a part of Ivy's M.O., and her way of transferring those poisons is usually through a kiss. If we analyze whatever's in this tube, we can find a cure for Kara."

"Then here," Beacon seemed to have regained some of her conviction, and it clearly resonated in her voice, "let me take a closer look at it."

Batgirl handed the lipstick over, and as Beacon held it closer, she narrowed her eyes and activated her holographic interface; on the thin screen, tiny reticles were moving all over the tube, and it was rapidly were generating small bits of texts for her to read.

"This can't be right... at least not completely… hang on." The Halfa paused as she re-read the words.

"What's the matter?" Batgirl deduced.

"This is just a regular tube of lipstick that's been laced with Kryptonite." She deactivated her interface, and looked back at Batgirl. "That tells us how Ivy was able to weaken Kara, but doesn't tell us how her mind-control worked on her."

Batgirl nodded, and then began to pace back and forth. "You're right, Ivy must've done something else… she must've…"

All of a sudden, Batgirl froze, let out a sharp gasp, and then clamped her hand over her mouth. Her skin paled slightly, and her eyes were so wide that they almost filled the eye-holes on her cowl. Beacon tensed up, and quickly scooped the area, thinking that Batgirl saw another would-be attacker. "What?" She asked, a little impatiently. "What is it?"

* * *

Poison Ivy gently placed her pot of rare flowers down on the metal table in the center of the room. Closing her eyes, she inhaled its scent again, waving her hand about in the same manner a chef would use when taking in the aroma of gourmet food. After letting out a happy sigh, Ivy tied an apron around herself, and ignited a Bunsen burner, then she started laying out various test-tubes, beakers, and flasks filled with colored liquids all over the table.

"You know, Red," said Harley from the other side of the room; she was on a long balance beam doing a one-handed handstand. "You still haven't told me what you plan to do with those flowers."

"I've told you that those _rich _idiots in the park were just going to buy them," Ivy replied as she slowly extracted the pink-colored nectar from one of the flowers with a long eyedropper, "buy them, but not appreciate them."

Harley hopped off the beam, and made her way to the opposite side of the table. "So, you're just gonna keep these just for keeping's sake?" she asked, rubbing a flower pedal between her fingers.

The other woman stopped her work, and turned to Harley. "Yes." She answered firmly. "Although, that's _after _I repopulate the floral kingdom with them, and also…" she stopped, and squeezed a few drops of the nectar into a beaker filled with blue liquid. After a few seconds, the pink nectar mixed with the blue, and the liquid turned clear, crystal clear. Ivy smirked, and held the beaker close to her eyes. "… These babies will ensure that Mother Nature will regain control of the world."

"Sounds great!" Harley exclaimed cheerfully, but then her face fell again. "_But... _what exactly does it do?"

Ivy eyed the curious jester, and held the beaker of clear liquid out to her. "Tell me, Harl, what do you see?"

Harley took the beaker, and gazed intently into it. She arched an eyebrow and turned it back and forth. "Nothing, it's completely clear."

"Alright, now what do you smell?" Ivy continued.

Harley held the beaker to her nose, and inhaled several times. There was no odor, nothing. She took a deep breath in, hoping her nostrils would pick up something, but alas, _nothing. _"I don't smell anything."

"Exactly," Ivy affirmed. "and what kind of liquid is clear and have no smell?"

Harley looked away as she opened her mouth in concentration, her finger was pointed at her chin. "Uh...?"

"The answer is _simple." _Ivy stated, suppressing a groan. She reached out, and took the beaker back from her partner, "It's _water._"

Harley blinked. "I-I knew _that_." She protested. "So what?"

"So..." Ivy drawn out the word as she tilted her hand slightly. The clear contents inside the beaker flowed down towards the ground, where it then cumulate into a small, round puddle.

For a second, there was nothing, but a split later, a thick layer of steam began to rise up from the puddle, making quiet sizzling sounds as more and more liquid became vapor. When all the liquid had disappeared... there was a round hole right where the puddle was.

"Whoa..." Harley remarked, her eyes wide.

Ivy's smirk broaden at her partner's comment as she placed the beaker back onto the table. "Now, it would be _tragic, _if say... a considerable amount of this was introduced to the city's water system." She announced. "Wouldn't you think so, Harl."

Harley turned her eyes to pale-skinned woman, a smirk also etched on her face. "I agree with ya, Red." she replied as she leaned her arm on the table. "That _would_ be tragic, but think of all the laughs."

Both women's twisted smile eventually became a series of wicked giggles. As Harley steadied her breathing, her eyes fell onto Supergirl, who had been standing by the corner, staring blankly into the opposite wall."By the way," she said as she jerked her thumb at Supergirl, "What are we gonna do with her?"

Ivy stared at the mind-controlled Kryptonian, and narrowed her eyes in concentration. "Oh, well," she began slowly, "she could become _very _useful; now that she's been… smitten into our course." After a pause, she walked away from the table, and over to Supergirl. "But there's something about this girl that's quite compelling."

Harley watched as her partner moved her eyes up and down the still Kryptonian. She tilted her head slightly, looking ever so curious. "What do you mean?"

Ivy stood back slightly, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Honestly, I've no idea why I was able to control _her_ at all. It was a gut reaction, and I only meant to poison her. So, when it actually worked; I just went along with it."

"So, what's got you all tangled?" Harley asked, sounding confused. "Isn't it supposed to work like that?"

* * *

"What is it? What's wrong?" Beacon put a gentle hand on Batgirl shoulders, hoping to steady her.

Slowly, Batgirl lowered her hand from her mouth, and turned to face the Halfa. "Ivy's mind-control is based off of the pheromones that she can naturally produce. It makes her practically irresistible." She informed rapidly. "Thing is though, it's supposed to only have an effect on the male population."

Beacon blinked a few times upon hearing this information. "B-But, if that's the case… then how'd it work on Kara?"

There was another pause as Batgirl's eyes fell. Beacon could easily make out the gloom in the other girl's eyes; whatever she was thinking could not possibly be any good. Batgirl let out a slow sigh, and then turned back to face the Halfa. "Ivy's pheromones work… because males are generally attracted to females."

"Yeah…? Okay…" Beacon said slowly, still unsure about the meaning in Batgirl's words.

"But…" Batgirl continued. "We also know that… not everyone is… attracted to just one particular sex."

* * *

Ivy rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she turned to face Harley. "I can't say for sure," She admitted, "people are susceptible to my control because of the pheromones I release, but it's only supposed to work on men. So, why did it work on _you? _" The room fell into a silence as Ivy began to pace in a circle around Supergirl. "Could it be because you're an alien?" she continued. "No, can't be, it worked on Superman before… So, what is it?

Then from out of nowhere, Harley's arm shot straight into the air, her eyes seemed to be sparkling. "Oh-oh! Pick me, pick me!"

At the sight of her partner waving her arm back and forth, Ivy could not help but see her like a frantic grade-schooler trying to answer a question. "_What_, Harl?" she demanded, sounding irritated. "You don't have to ask for permission, just say it!"

"Alright!" A bright smile was etched onto Harley's face as she took a few bouncing steps over to Ivy and Supergirl. "Call it a hunch, Red…" she rested her elbow on Supergirl's shoulders, and then leaned her weight against her. "… But I think… just maybe, when this _Super_girl comes up to the bat, she swings the _other_ way, if you catch my drift, huh… huh?" She gently nudged her other elbow against Ivy's midsection.

The pale-skinned woman furrowed her brow as she looked back and forth between Harley and Supergirl. When the jester slowly winked at her, something clicked in her mind. "Oh, _Oooohh! _" She exclaimed, clasping her hands to her forehead.

"Yeah!" Harley joined in. "Ya see?"

"Of course, it all makes sense now!" said Ivy. "Honestly, Harl, sometimes I forget you still have a brain in there under all the face paint."

Harley gently blew on the tips of her fingers, and then rubbed them against her front. "Well, I _did _get a degree in physc-... _HEY!_ "Her face turned into a glare as she completely deciphered Ivy's words.

"Oh, relax." Ivy insisted.

"Yeah, yeah," Harley snorted. She walked over to the lounge chair, and grabbed Batgirl's utility belt. "By the way, who do you think she's running with these days? My money's on Brat-girl!" The jester wrapped the belt around herself, and connected the clips. "Hey, what do ya know? It fits!"

"That's great, Harl." said Ivy, though her tone was a slight betrayal to her words. "But honestly, it doesn't matter who she's seeing or not." The woman stepped closer to Supergirl, and gingerly ran a finger down her cheek. "What matters is now we have a new pet to help us in our cause." Ivy's dark red lips curled into a devious smile. Slowly, she touched the fingers on her hand to her lips, and then blew a kiss at Supergirl.

A thin trail of pink vapor escaped Ivy mouth, and flew through the air with the aid of her breath. The trail lingered for a brief moment, but then was absorbed into Supergirl's nostrils. The mind-controlled Kryptonian closed her eyes, and bit her lower lip as her body began to shudder.

* * *

The Halfa felt herself stumbling backwards; Batgirl's words were finally sinking in. Her eyes grew wide, and she found herself panting, not from lack of air, but from shock. Beacon firmly believed, with every fiber of her being, that she truly had something very special with Kara, and now, some lunatic had managed to use that against them, against _her_. She ran a hand over her face, and after taking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, she turned back to Batgirl.

"Obviously we…we have to put an end to their schemes." She stated. "So, what's the plan?"

Batgirl gave her a firm look. "Lucky for us, Ivy's mind-control isn't new by any stretch of the imagination. Everything we need will be back at the Cave, so let's head back there n-"She was cut off when a beeping noise rang from one of the tips in her cowl. Beacon quickly deduced that she was getting a call, and judging from how Batgirl sighed and closed her eyes; she realized _who_ was making the call.

Batgirl turned away from her, and pressed a button on the side of her cowl, "Yeah…" she answered. Even though her back was turned to Beacon, the Halfa could still hear the muffled sound coming from her communicator, and seeing Batgirl tense up made it clear that the words being used were anything but friendly. "I know, Bruce, and I…" before she could say any more, she was quickly interrupted. "…But Rachel's here with me, we can handle it…"

Just then, there was another beeping sound, this time coming the communicator in Beacon's ear. Her heart sunk to her stomach. After watching what Batgirl just went through, she was wary about what would happen if she answered the call. However, Beacon's integrity eventually got the best of her, and slowly, she raised her hand to her earpiece, and gently pressed on the button.

Almost immediately, the worried voice of Clark Kent rushed into her ear. "_Rachel! What's going on? _" His words coming a mile a second, "_First, you and Kara were heading out on your trip. Then the next thing I know, I'm being told she was put under mind-control!_"

Beacon winced; she had no idea how to explain. Since Superman already knew the truth, she did not know what she could say that would make things better, "I-I'm sorry," she spoke apprehensively, "W-we got split up during the fight, and when I… when I got back to her, she… Ivy had already put her under her control." Her voice broke. Every word, every _syllable_ even, stung as they escaped her mouth, she swallowed the lump in her throat before speaking again. "I tried to stop them, but… but…"

Beacon heard Superman breathe a sigh on the other hand. "_Where is she now?_ " He asked,"_And… Are you okay? _"

"Well, I'm not injured if that's what you mean." Beacon replied vaguely. "And we don't know where they went, but Batgirl and I are on the case." She tried her best to sound confident, but her tightened chest made it a difficult feat.

There was another pause. Beacon was not sure if Superman had disconnected while she had been talking, or was just thinking of what to say. She was going to call his name when the man spoke again. "_Alright, just… be careful, she's my cousin._"

_Did he mean be careful as in don't get hurt? Or be careful not to hurt her? _ Beacon shook her head to the clear her confusion. "We'll bring Kara back, Clark," she declared, "I promise." With that, she ended her connection, and turned to Batgirl, who had ended her connection with the Dark Knight as well, and looked quite annoyed. "So, I'm guessing that Batman really didn't have anything nice to say."

Batgirl let out a light snort. "Pretty much," She confirmed, "but I told him that you and I are handling it, because I have a plan."

"Alright," said Beacon, "Let's hear it."

"First, we need to head back to the cave, everything we need will be there." Batgirl walked over to the edge of the roof, and gazed down towards the street below. After a moment, she turned back to Beacon. "Would you mind… again?"

"Sure." Beacon walked over to Batgirl, and took hold of her underarms. After making the gentle descent, the protégé of Batman hopped back onto her bike, and together, the two heroines sped off towards the Batcave.

* * *

The orange glow of the setting sun was beginning to work its way up the hillside as Batgirl and Beacon weaved through the curved road. They eventually reached a long straightaway, and the Halfa could see the silhouette of Wayne Manor atop of the distant hill. Batgirl shifted her bike into another gear and began veering off the asphalt, heading right towards an enormous boulder. They were about fifty feet out and closing when Batgirl pressed a button on the handlebars. A split second later, the boulder moved to the side, revealing a dark tunnel that led underground.

Once inside, Beacon and Batgirl coasted the whole way before coming to a perfect halt on the center platform of the Batcave. Beacon simply let herself drop back down while Batgirl kicked the stand down, and stepped off her bike. Together, the two walked off the platform, where they found Robin, the other one of Batman's protégés waiting for them with a worried look on his face.

"Hey, I just found out what happened," He began rather quickly, "are you two alright?"

Batgirl blinked for a second, and then raised a slight smile as she put a hand on her partner's shoulder. "Tim, we're alright." She glanced back at Beacon, who gave a nod, a stiff one, but a nod nevertheless. "We're just a bit shaken up, but we've come back to get some things, then we'll head back out."

Robin nodded in understanding and together, the three of them walked back onto the main platform of the Batcave. "Oh, by the way," he said, pointing to Batgirl's waist, "Your belt's gone."

Batgirl just rolled her eyes. "Harley got a lucky shot in when I was distracted." She confessed. "Then again, that's why we have spares."

"The big man won't be happy…" The Boy Wonder muttered.

"Oh, he's upset alright," Batgirl informed rather grimly, "but right now we need to focus on finding Harley and Ivy."

"So, how are we going to do that exactly?" Beacon questioned. "It's not like we could search the entire city."

"Well, yes and no," Batgirl argued, "We'll find them. In fact, why don't you and Robin get on that while I go grab what we need?"

The Halfa raised a curious eyebrow as Batgirl veered off, heading for the other side of the Cave while she and Robin made their way to the giant computer. The younger teen plopped himself down on the cushioned swivel chair, and began to type away at the console. "Our utility belts aren't just stylish," He explained, rather smugly, "but also, they are 100% traceable, and any second now we should be zeroing in on its location."

The map of the city popped up on the screen, followed by a red reticule that was moving in a pattern along the grid. A second later, the reticule stopped directly in the center of a four-way intersection. "See? Ta-da!" Robin exclaimed

Beacon felt the corner of her mouth rise a bit. She should have guessed; leave it to Batman to implement such an ingenious defense mechanism. "Good work," she complemented.

"Piece of cake." Robin replied as he leaned back on the chair and put his feet on the console.

With one phase of their plan complete, Beacon focused her thoughts on the next step, which involved needing some equipment. She turned and watched as Batgirl approached them, carrying a yellow utility belt in one hand, and a rather, tiny cube in the other.

"May I ask what's with the cube?" Beacon asked when Batgirl was within arm's reach.

In response, Batgirl tossed the cube over to her, and the Halfa caught it with one hand. "Open it." She instructed. Beacon did as she was told, and found herself staring into a tiny shard of Kryptonite, which was instantly recognizable by its faint green glow. Thinking back, with Kara now posing a possible threat, Beacon can understand necessity of this small piece of radioactive material. Although, in another part of her mind, she felt her heart sink at the thought of subjecting Kara through unbearable pain, just so they could help her.

Beacon quickly snapped the cube shut "So, we're going to subject her to radiation poisoning, just to stop her?" she questioned rather crossly as she handed the back to Batgirl.

The other heroine remained silent as she lowered the utility belt, and clipped it around her waist. "The Kryptonite is just to slow her down," She said firmly, then she pulled out a small vial filled with bright-blue liquid. "Once we achieve that, I'll introduce the contents of this into her system. That should counteract the effects of Ivy's pheromones."

"Right," said Beacon, "then are we all set?"

"Yes," Batgirl answered firmly, "but before we head out… I-I want to ask something…"

"What is it?"

Batgirl's eyes softened as she spoke again. "How are you holding up with all this? Since you two are… you know…"

Beacon blinked. Her mind had been so focused on getting Kara back that… that she never stopped to consider how dramatically everything had turned. She, Kara, and Barb were supposed to be well into their Spring Break by now, but now, thanks to the Superheroes duties, they were _all_ in quite the pickle.

Then there was… _Kara._ Beacon felt a knot tighten in the pit of her stomach as the thought of her being a pawn invaded her mind. This wasn't right. Kara was the one that was the most eager to go on their Spring Break, the one that just wanted to have fun with her friends, she didn't deserve what happened to her, but… it _did_. _Why? _Beacon demanded to herself. _Why did it have to be her?_

Her mind raced back, _or was it forward_ to the future, to when she was at the Coliseum desperately clinging on to Kara to prevent her from being sucked into nonexistence. She then remembered the retching despair she felt when she could only watch, in terribly slow motion, as Kara was being pulled away from her, pulled away into the void of being _nothing_. The Halfa's eyes were beginning to sting, and for a second she wanted to let her tears fall, to embrace her emotions and give into the despair. However, she knew better than that. She turned away from the other two, and worked hard to steady her breathing.

After taking a deep breath, she turned back to Batgirl, and Robin. "I'll be fine," she answered. "You don't have to worry about me." The look of disbelief on Batgirl's face was completely obvious. "_What?_ It's true." The Halfa quickly added.

"Rach…" the other girl began slowly as she put a hand on Beacon's shoulder. "It's okay, you're among friends; you don't have to hide how you really feel."

"Who says I am?"

"Well, judging from how you took a second to compose yourself," Robin chimed in, "You don't-"

"Shush, _you_…" Beacon jabbed at him with a scowl. Then she turned back to Batgirl. "Barb, I know you mean well, but right now I'm just focused on getting Kara back, that's all I want."

After another pause, a smile of approval appeared on Batgirl's face. "Alright," she said, "I'm sorry for doubting you."

Beacon lifted the corner of her mouth and nodded at the Bat-themed heroine. "You don't have to apologize." There was moment of silence as they beamed into each other's eyes.

"Yeah, okay…" Robin said slowly, "sorry to break up this 'girl moment', but you two should head out before Ivy and Harley cause more trouble."

Batgirl blinked, and cleared her throat. "R-right," she shuddered, "so where are they?"

Robin typed a few commands on the console to zoom in on the map. "Looks like Robinson Park." He informed. "Figures, that place's still abandoned after everything that Ivy did to it, just be careful though, you don't know what-" The rest of his speech was drowned out by the sound of a motorcycle engine roaring throughout the entire Batcave. The Boy Wonder turned in chair just in time to see the back wheel of the Batcycle disappear into the tunnel. The sound of the engine then quickly became softer and softer as Batgirl and Beacon sped further and further away.

Robin let out a scoff as he turned back to the Batcomputer. "And I thought it was annoying when _Batman_ did that." He mumbled under his breath.

* * *

The trip was relatively short, what with Batgirl ignoring traffic laws, and Beacon not having to worry about traffic at all. The two heroines found themselves in front of the entrance to Robinson Park, and true to what Robin said, the entire place was vacant, and almost everything was covered with dense vegetation.

"Ivy's definitely here," Batgirl stated confidently, "now that I think about it; the answer was obvious."

"But what's so special about this place?" Beacon asked.

In answer Batgirl pointed to a spot deep inside the park. "See that? That's the park's bio-dome. Ivy set this place up as a breeding ground for her plants."

"Alright," the Halfa acknowledged. "They must be holed up in there, I could get us both in without detection."

"Sounds like a plan," Batgirl said, "but before all that… you should know…"

"What is it now?" Beacon said a little impatiently. "I know you worried about me because of Kara, but…"

"That's what I was about to bring up." Batgirl cut in. "Before Harley was… _Harley_, she was Harleen Quinzel, a physiotherapist at Arkham Asylum."

Beacon perked up an eyebrow, and looked slightly away. While she knew about the place where all of Gotham's criminally insane were imprisoned, she never knew that Harely used to be responsible for the treatment of the inmates. _Oh, how she had fallen._ She thought, but back to the matter at hand, if it Harley had once dedicated herself into figuring out what made a person tick, then perhaps a certain, mind-controlled alien girl could've… sparked some desire for investigation. Beacon felt a jolt course through her brain, and turned her eyes back to Batgirl

"So, what you're trying to say is Harley could have figured out why Ivy's mind-control worked on Kara," she spoke indifferently. "And as a result of that, they could use that as a way to gain the advantage against us."

Batgirl blinked, and took a step back, her surprise shown clearly on her face. "Y-yes," she replied slowly. "That's exactly what I wanted to say. How'd you piece that together?"

Beacon took a deep breath, and in doing so, Batgirl could see a wave of sadness reflected off her bright-blue eyes. "Believe it or not," the Halfa said, her tone matching the mood in her eyes, "this actually… isn't the first time someone used a person I cared about against me."

Batgirl blinked again as her jaw felt open slightly. "O-oh…" was all that she managed to say. The place felt silent for a few seconds, and then Beacon started again.

"Look, sorry for getting into that, but we should hurry."

Batgirl's clenched her jaw shut, and nodded. Beacon slowly returned the gesture, and lifted herself into the air. She floated directly above Batgirl, and lowered her hands. Batgirl quickly accepted them, clasping tightly onto Beacon's wrists. The Halfa, with her hold on Batgirl, shot off towards the bio-dome in the center of the park. About a second into their flight, Beacon took a deep breath, and concentrated to make both Batgirl and herself vanish from plain sight.

Upon reaching the bio-dome, Beacon would've just quickly made herself intangible to phase through the hexagonal panel, but still she had a passenger, it feel apt to inform her. "I'm gonna turn intangible," She whispered. "It's gonna get cold."

In response, Batgirl gave a reassuring squeeze to both her wrists. "Do it." She whispered back.

"Okay." They flew right up to one of the panels, and went straight through, the second they did, Beacon made themselves solid again, and began their descent. Sure enough, the Halfa heard the sound of ragged breathing, and felt tense pressure on her wrists. Even though, she couldn't see her, it wasn't difficult to imagine how uncomfortable Batgirl must be. "You alright?" she asked.

"F-fine…" Batgirl replied through chattering teeth. When the Bat-themed heroine's feet touched the ground, Beacon felt her grip slack slightly, and knew that this was a signal for her to let go. She did so, and Batgirl reappeared almost immediately. She rubbed up and down on her arms, and repeatedly flexed her hands to regain the warmth in her fingers. After steadying herself, she pulled a remote tracker, and worked to hone in on the signal of the stolen utility belt.

"Got a lock on the signal." Batgirl said. "Stay invisible, that way you'll be able to get the drop on them." With that said, she did not wait around for a response. She walked further into the bio-dome, and started making her way through the thick vegetation.

* * *

With the signal getting stronger and stronger, Batgirl, as well as Beacon, knew they were on the right course. It was just a challenge, and frankly, a pain to work around all these pants. About thirty feet in, Batgirl felt the end of her cape snag onto a branch, tugging painfully at her throat. She could have called Beacon to work it free, but there was a chance that it could get snagged again. Wanting to make things easier, she unclipped her cape, and kept pushing forward.

The beeping sound the tracker was giving off was getting faster and faster. They were close, _real _close. Any second they would have the belt in the sights, and hopefully, Ivy and Harley as well.

Batgirl tore through the foliage right as the beeping on the tracker became one solid sound. She had reached a clearing and her eyes immediately fell upon something tiny lying on the ground, but there was nothing else waiting for them. She stepped further into the clearing, picked the small object for closer examination.

The realization hit Batgirl like a bolt of lightning; the object was the microchip that emitted the signal she was tracking, Harley must have taken it out! She groaned loudly as she got back to her feet. "We've been set up!" she called out. "We need to- UH!" Her speech was cut off when a thick root coiled its way up both her legs, and jerked back violently, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Batgirl!" Beacon's voice came from nowhere.

The redhead could not answer as the root began to drag her across the ground, and back into the foliage. When she broke through into a clear again, Batgirl felt her entire body throb with pain as steady pressure began to build up in her head. She tilted her head and realized that the thick plant limb coiled around her legs was dangling her upside down.

"Batgirl," Beacon called out again. "Hang on, I got ya."

"No," Batgirl rejected. "Stay hidden, I got this." She pulled out a batarang, and threw it right at the root. Once it was severed, she plummeted straight back towards the ground, but thanks to her acrobatic skills, she landed on her feet with complete ease. The sound of twisted laughter made Batgirl tense up, turning on the spot, she found herself staring into the smirking faces of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, who were both lounging on another one of Ivy's signature roots.

"I would say that it's a surprise to see you here, Batgirl," Ivy began as she curled a lock of her red hair, "but I won't, because that would be a lie."

Batgirl narrowed her eyes as she glared at the two villains. She clenched her jaw tightly when she noticed Harley standing there, wearing _her_ utility belt. "That belt doesn't belong to you, Quinn" She said heatedly. "Speaking of which," She turned to glare at Ivy, "those flowers you stole don't belong to you either."

"If you want 'em back, feel to come and get'em." Harley quipped. Then she burst into a chorus of laughter. "Oh, I love to see you try, Brat-brain!"

Ivy's smirk grew as she tilted her head up before speaking again. "_And _even though you're _not _here alone…" her voice had risen, so it carried throughout the entire bio-dome. "You are still outnumbered."

The unseen form of Beacon narrowed her eyes dangerously as she floated above the rest of them. It was clear now that both she and Batgirl were expected. The villains were several steps ahead, and they knew they needed to work fast to catch up. Beacon deduced that their next step should be to ask the question that has been on her mind ever since she entered this place. She landed back onto the ground, and reappeared into view.

"Where's Supergirl?" She demanded.

Ivy and Harley turned to their eyes at each other in a manner that made Beacon ball up her fists. She was struggling to maintain self-control, and had to keep reminding herself that neither of the villainess vixens would be able to answer her question if they were unconscious.

"Well, you certainly don't have to look that far." Ivy divulged elusively. The pale-skinned woman raised her hands, and clapped twice. The leaves around them rustled as if hit by a strong breeze, and after parting like a curtain, a large red rosebud attached to a huge vine appeared from the foliage, and was laid to rest beside Ivy and Harley.

"Wha-?" Beacon began to ask, but before she could finish, the rose began to bloom, like any flower would when it became their time. Beacon's eyes widened in shock when she saw none other than Kara standing at the center of the flower, but the Halfa had never seen her like this. She blinked several times to make sure that what she was seeing was actually real. Kara was not dressed in her usual outfit of a T-shirt, skirt and boots, instead all she had on was a strapless leotard that was made up of green leaves, and a few strands of her hair had been braided together with small flowers.

"Wha-What-?" Beacon stammered, still lost for words.

"What did you do to her?" Batgirl finished instead.

Maintaining her devious smirk, Ivy got up and started making her way over to Kara. "Oh, just added a touch of nature to help bring out her overall beauty." She remarked arrogantly. "You like it? Well, I certainly do, and she was _so _willing to participate in the wardrobe change." She began running her hand up and down Kara's body. Beacon began to feel spikes of fury burning inside her, and she was having difficulty containing it. _How… How dare she?! _

Slowly, Ivy wrapped her leg around Kara's waist, and began to caress her cheek. Her eyes dropped halfway and her voice dropped to a low whisper. "She didn't even reject when I-." She did not finish her sentence as she tilted Kara's face towards her, and their lips met for a fraction of a second.

"_GET AWAY FROM HER!_ " Both Beacon and Batgirl shouted at exactly the same time. At the blink of an eye, an energy beam and a batarang flew straight at Ivy, lucky for her, a root sprung from out of nowhere.

There was a massive explosion, and Ivy was thrown off her feet by the shockwave, but lucky for her, one of the giant rose pedals was able to block off the blunt of the explosion, saving Ivy from any serious injuries. After everything stopped spinning, Ivy stood back up, and quickly brushed the dust off her body.

"Alright, that's how you want to play it, _fine_." She growled, looking livid. "Supergirl, get them!"

Miraculously, the Kryptonian sustained no damage from the explosion, and seemed to be oblivious to everything that had just transpired. However, at Ivy's command, Kara sprang into action, hurdling towards her friends at blazing speeds.

Even though Kara had her superior speed, Beacon was prepared. Narrowing her eyes, she jerked her body to the side right as the Kryptonian's fist blew across her field of vision. The Halfa immediately grabbed hold of Kara's forearm, and whipped it around her back. As Kara cried out at the pressure being applied to her arm, Beacon drove her kneecap into the back of her leg, sending the mind-controlled heroine's bare knees to the dirt.

"Batgirl, d-do it now." Beacon said through gritted teeth. "I can't hold her like this."

It was true, even as Beacon kept firm pressure on Supergirl's arm; she was beginning to overpower the Halfa, and would surely break free. Wasting no time, Batgirl pulled out the tiny cube, and opened it. The green glow instantly enveloped the immediate area; Kara let out a sharp gasp, and stared at the shard of Kryptonite with wide, fearful eyes. Then Kara's body began to shake violently, she doubled over and began to cry out in agony.

"Keep her still-" Batgirl instructed as she approached her writhing friend. "-while I…"She gasped when the box was knocked out of her hand by a foreign object. Despite the searing pain in her hand, Batgirl could make out the black batarang flying back into Harley Quinn's hand.

"You're not the only one with toys, y'know." She wisecracked. With a grunt of effort, the jester leapt, and flipped through the air. Immediately following her landing, Harley hurled a straight punch right at Batgirl's face, but the heroine was able to move her head out of the way with no effort. The two nemeses continued to trade several blows, and then Batgirl's grimace turned into a snarl as her annoyance got the better of her. She dodged Harley's kick aiming for her head, and tackled the jester, taking their fight to the ground.

Beacon's attention switched back to Kara when she felt the blond Kryptonian move once again. First, the movement was slow, but then it became too strong, even with all her strength she could not keep Kara down. When she was back on her feet, Kara reached back, and grabbed a fistful of Beacon's hair. Beacon yelped with pain as she felt her head being tugged back. Then as Kara sunk to her knees to the ground again, she whipped Beacon over her back.

The Halfa grunted as she felt her back slam against the ground, stunning her. She blinked several time to regain her vision. Unfortunately for her, Kara pulled her up by her hair again, and rose a few feet into the air. She then flung Beacon straight at the wall of the bio-dome; the force of the impact was enough to shatter a panel. The Halfa skipped across the concrete for several more yards before rolling to a stop.

* * *

Batgirl and Harley tumbled across the ground as they fought to overpower one another. With one final roll, Batgirl pressed her knee right at the center of Harley's chest, pinning her. She brought her fist down hard across the jester's face, feeling her skin, flesh, and bone shake against her knuckles.

Harley grunted with pain, and then coughed as her lungs struggled to regain oxygen. Surprising, the jester still managed to curl her lips into a malicious smirk. "Well, I must say," she cackled, "it's good to know you like to be on top."

Batgirl knew completely what Harley was trying to do; years of fighting both her and the Joker had made her well accustomed to their tactics. Harley was just doing her best to irritate her, to use her silver tongue to try to force her into making a mistake. Well, Batgirl knew better than that, she gritted her teeth as she punched Harley's face a second time.

"So, you still haven't answered Red's question. " The jester continued with her smirk still etched on her face despite the beating she just took. "What _did _you think about us dressing up your blond, alien bff?"

_Smack!_ Batgirl punched her again, but almost immediately, Harley was back at it.

"Or is she something _more_?" she quipped.

_Smack!_

"Oh! Oh! What was it like seeing Red going in for a smoochie-smoochie?" Harley eyes were wide open, as if she was genuinely curious. "I bet it stung to watch, huh?"

Batgirl blinked and furrowed her brow as her brain worked on deciphering her words. _Wait, does she think that Kara and me-?_ Her train of thought ended when spots of black appeared in front of her vision, sending shots of pain into both of her eyes. In her hesitation, Harley must have picked up some dirt, and flung it right at her. As Batgirl's hands jumped to cover her searing eyes, Harley seized the advantage and kicked her away. Batgirl had no idea where she was stumbling to, but second later, something large and thick twist its way around her entire body, holding her firmly in place.

Batgirl opened her still-painful eyes, and realized, to her horror, that one of Ivy's roots was restraining her. She struggled to break free, but to no avail. To make matters even worse, her hands were pinned to her side, making it impossible for her reach her utility belt.

Batgirl's eyes eventually found Ivy as the woman made her way beside Harley. The two of them burst into twisted laughter at Batgirl's predicament. "Oh, no, Harl." Ivy exclaimed upon seeing the bright purple bruise on Harley's cheek. "Did the _bad_ Batgirl hurt you?" her voice dropped into a soft coo and she gently brushed her thumb across the mark.

Harley yelped and jumped back at the touch. "YOW! Red, it's still fresh!" she exclaimed, holding a hand to her throbbing cheek. Her eyes registered real discomfort, but then as her gaze fell upon Batgirl again, they were set ablaze with anger. Harley stomped right up to the captured heroine, and sent a hard punch right to her cheek. "How do you like that, huh?!" she shouted. "How_… _about_ …_a taste_… _of_… _your own_… _medicine!" She punctured every phrase with a blow, clocking Batgirl at the exact same spot on her face.

The side of Batgirl's face grew numb from the assault, her head hung to the side as her vision blurred in and out of focus. She tasted something warm and bitter inside her mouth, and instinctively spat out a stream of her own blood.

Harley slowly backed away, but kept her glare locked in on the semi-lucid Batgirl. Her fist was still shaking from the desire to beat her further into a pulp. However, Ivy's hand on her shoulder drowned out such thoughts. "Alright, you certainly got yours," the pale-skinned woman affirmed, "but if suffering is what you want for her," she paused as an evil smirked appeared on her face, "then there _is _a better way." Harley blinked, and then etched a big smile of her own as she started to hop in place.

Even though Batgirl was doing the best she could to hide it, the sight of seeing such malice before her made her feel a great sense of unease. Ivy raised her right hand, snapped her fingers loudly. Almost immediately, the root holding her began to constrict. Spikes of pain erupted throughout her body, and she felt her lungs being flattened, making it all but impossible for her to regain the air she had lost. The agony became unbearable; Batgirl opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. All she could do was listen to the malevolent chorus of Harley and Ivy's laughter.

* * *

Beacon worked her way back to her feet, wincing as her weak and throbbing muscles protested. She turned her gaze forward just in time to see Kara float down gently before her. The Halfa had to admit; Kara's outfit did actually look beautiful on her, and the flowers in her hair were the sweet cherry on top. She just hated it because it was all just an elaborate scheme to play on her emotions.

"Kara, please." Beacon decided to try to reach her girlfriend again. "I know you, the _real _you, is somewhere in there. You're stronger than Ivy; fight it!"

Kara did not respond, she just continued to stare at the Halfa with a blank grimace. As the light breeze flow through her loose hair, Kara's unseeing-eyes glowed red, and her heat-vision blasted out straight towards Beacon, who dove to the side to avoid the two beams of burning death. Kara leisurely kept her gaze on the Halfa and moved her head after her, completely disregarding the trees and streetlamps that were cleaved in half, and set ablaze.

Beacon realized that she needed to change tactics; otherwise, she would risk having Kara setting the whole park on fire. She flew low to the ground and headed straight towards Kara. After narrowly dodging her heat vision for the umpteenth time, Beacon shot an energy beam from her palm. The shot hit Kara right on the chest, and tossed her back a few feet. Kara planted her feet down hard on the ground to grind herself into a halt, and before she could react, Beacon was right there in front of her, driving her fist across her face. The Kryptonian grunted and stumbled back a few steps. Realizing her opportunity, the Halfa wasted no time; she hopped into the air, and swung her leg right at the dazed Kara.

The move connected, but it was to Kara's raised forearm. Jolts of pain shot up Beacon's leg and coursed through her entire body. Kara disappeared in a blur of motion, and snatched onto the front of the Halfa's shirt. She threw her over her shoulder, and slammed the Halfa into ground. The last thing Beacon saw was Kara's fist coming straight for her face.

* * *

Batgirl could not do anything to struggle against her bonds; the root was slowly squeezing every ounce of her life out of her. The redhead eventually felt her body go numb as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

"Hey, _Brat-_girl!" Harley jeered loudly. "Looks like you're in a real _tight _situation, huh?" She snickered loudly before losing herself to another chorus of demented laughter. Ivy, on the other hand, simply rolled her eyes at Harley's terrible joke. Once the jester had stopped laughing, she took several deep breaths to regain her composure, before stalking right up to Batgirl's face.

"By the way, I suppose I should thank you for the belt." She commented as she brushed her hands over Batgirl's stolen utility belt. "It looks really nice on me, don't ya think?"

Batgirl fixed her glare at the jester and tried moving her mouth to form words, but at that came out were small grunts, quiet mumbles, and short wheezes.

"Huh? Sorry, what's that, Lamb-chop?" Harley turned her head and held her ear closer to Batgirl. "You're gonna have to speak up." The same series of sounds escaped Batgirl's mouth, but still, there were no coherent words.

Harley gave a slow sigh, and turned back to Ivy. "Red, could you do me a solid and ease this up a bit?" She pointed to the root taut around Batgirl.

The pale-faced woman looked appalled at her partner. "Harl, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Relax, Red would ya?" Harley contended. Then, a twisted smile appeared on her face. "If she tries anything, I'll take care of her myself." Ivy narrowed her eyes, and glanced between Batgirl and Harley for a moment. Finally, she raised her hand, and snapped her fingers.

Even though the slack was minimal, Batgirl was at last able to get air into her burning lungs, she felt lightheaded as oxygen coursed through her whole body. However, before she could steady her breathing, Harley violently tug on her hair, pulling her head back. Batgirl could not stop herself from crying out in pain.

"Aright, _you_," Harley murmured, "now what were you saying?" She ended her question by holding the sharp tip of a batarang against Batgirl's throat.

Batgirl let out a quick breath as she stared into the jester's eyes, which, as usual, were full of malice and insanity. She opened her mouth to speak again, and this time she was somewhat successful.

"I-I said…" she croaked. "d-don't… use… the… second… one… to the… l-left."

Harley narrowed her eyes, not exactly sure what Batgirl was trying to pull. "Now why would you say something like that?" She questioned slowly. She looked down at the belt, and quickly found the compartment Batgirl indicated. She reached into it, and pulled out a small tube with a button at the top. "What's it do?" She pressed the button, and for a few seconds; nothing happened.

Suddenly, the tube began to hiss, startling Harley into dropping it. When the tube hit the ground, green smoke started to spew out of it, and rapidly rose into the air. "What did you do?" Poison Ivy demanded. She furrowed her brow deeply when her nose noticed a particular odor lingering in the air. The odor stung her nostrils, made her eyes water, and ultimately, made her shudder with trepidation.

"Atrazine…" She muttered under breath.

"Atta-what?" Harley failed to finish her sentence as the horrid odor spread throughout the bio-dome. Then, to their horror, the plants surround them slowly to wither; the once luscious sea of green was beginning to turn a morbidly dark gray.

"My Babies!" Poison Ivy wailed in despair, but all she could do was fall on her knees and scooped the pile of ashes into her shaking palms. "No, _NO!_ " Hot tears began to flow from Ivy's eyes as she clutched her head between her trembling hands. Everything, single, plant in the dome was dead, everything she held so near and dear to her… was _dead_. Ivy slammed her eyes shut as a scream full of grief and fury escaped her throat.

As Ivy continued to mope in her own despair, a black bola flew from out of nowhere, and wrapped itself tightly around the pale-skinned woman. Ivy tried to wiggle herself free, but in doing so she never saw Batgirl, with a gas-mask on her face, sprint out of the smoke, and punch her squarely in the face.

"Red!" Harley shouted as Poison Ivy slumped over, unconscious. The jester turned her gaze, and for a moment both her and the Bat-themed heroine simply glared into each other's eyes. "What did you do?" She demanded furiously.

"Me? I warned you not to use it." Batgirl countered. Her voice was still hoarse after being nearly squeezed to death, but she was able to fight off the pain. "That was a case of atrazine; a common herbicide. I figured since I couldn't reach my own utility belt, I'd use the one on your-"She noticed Harley had pulled out a batarang, and was poised to throw it at her. She reacted a second before she did, Batgirl threw a batarang of her own at the jester, successfully knocking the other one away. Harley grunted with pain, but before she could retaliate, Batgirl quickly ran up to the jester, and drove her to ground with a punch to the face that echoed throughout the bio-dome.

Harley slowly propped herself up with one arm as she massaged the pain away. After expressing a slight smirk of satisfaction, Batgirl bent over, and unclicked the stolen utility belt from Harley's waist. "I'll just take this back." She remarked as she got back to her feet.

"You-you think you've won, don't you? Harley spat, her eyes and words filled with venom. "You think after this, you're gonna put Red and me back in Arkham."

Batgirl clipped her second belt across her shoulders, not taking her eyes of Harley the entire time. "_That _is exactly what's going to happen." She avowed. "It's over, Harley."

To her complete and utter surprise, the jester actually smiled. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that, _Brat-girl._" Suddenly, she sprang to her feet, and threw what looked like a black ball straight into the ground. A ball exploded into a huge cloud of smoke, reducing Batgirl's field of vision to absolute zero. The redheaded heroine frantically waved her hand back and forth to clear the smoke, and when it was finally cleared, Harley was gone.

Instantly, Batgirl whirred around to the spot where she had left Ivy, and found it empty as well, save for the bola lying on the ground.

She cursed at herself and let out a frustrated groan. How could she have let this happen?! They were right within her grasp, and she let them slip. She must have gotten rusty after all these months. _Lucky Bruce _isn't _here! _Her thoughts made her shudder.

_BOOM!_

The sound coming from the outside made Batgirl jump, and before long there was another, and another. _Rachel… Kara…_ She thought shockingly, she had nearly forgotten that her friends were still fighting right outside; there was no time to waste! Batgirl dropped to her hands and knees, and began sweeping away the ashes of the dead plants as fast as she could. "Where is it? Where is it?" She muttered under her breath.

At last, her hand brushed against something solid, and her heart skipped a beat. Brushing away the surrounding ashes, her eyes fell upon the small and familiar cube that contained the shard of Kryptonite. Batgirl snatched it up, and took off towards the exit.

* * *

Beacon spun to her right as Kara threw another straight punch. With Kryptonian's back facing her, Beacon reached out, and pinched a spot on Kara's shoulder. Unfortunately, instead of tensing up and slipping into unconsciousness, Kara whipped around her head around, and glared at Beacon with her rage-induced eyes. _Agh, perfect! _The Halfa mentally scolded herself. _The _one _time I miss the spot_.

Kara's solid hand caught hold of Beacon's wrist, making the Halfa wince sharply in pain. The Kryptonian took a step forward, and sent a vicious backhand to Beacon's cheek. The Halfa yelped in agony as she toppled over.

Throughout the whole fight, Beacon had been doing her best to ignore her feelings and not hold anything back against Kara. Sadly, that meant Kara was not holding back either, and she was able to brush off nearly every blow the Halfa threw at her.

Beacon slowly propped herself up on her trembling arms. As she shook her head to clear the fuzziness in her vision, Kara rushed in and lifted her up by the front of her shirt. The Kryptonian's eyes began to glow again and Beacon could feel the smoldering heat pressing against her body. However, at that exact moment, the Halfa felt someone approaching from behind. Her heart instantly filled with hope as she realized who it was. _Batgirl! _She must have beaten Ivy and Harley. Now she's coming with the Kryptonite, and this will all be over soon. Turning her attention back to Kara, Beacon slapped the palms of her hands right on the Kryptonian's ears.

Kara shouted as the blow completely disorientated her, but what Beacon never counted on, was that Kara would actually throw her away, and she was still strong enough to send the Halfa flying across the park grounds. She spun through the air with no control… and then slammed right into the fast-approaching Batgirl.

Both Beacon and Batgirl crashed onto the ground, their bodies throbbing from their collision. Batgirl blinked several times to clear her vision, and then gasped in horror as she raised her hands to her eyes; they were both empty, which meant for the second time the Kryptonite was blown out of her hands. Batgirl sprang to her feet and began rabidly scanning the ground for the lost cube.

There was a whooshing sound, quickly followed by a gust of wind, and then Batgirl turned and found herself staring into Kara's blank, yet furious, face. The Kryptonian's arm moved in a blur, and an instant after, her fingers enclosed around Batgirl's throat, nearly crushing her windpipe. The redhead gagged as she felt Kara lifting her off the ground. She clutched onto Kara's hand with both of her own as she tried desperately to pry them away from her neck, but nothing she did worked, she even tried planting her feet on Kara's body and pushing with her legs as hard as she could. However, that also proved to be useless; Kara was just _too _strong.

"…Kara… please_…_" She begged; her voice had gone raspy. "It's… me… it's Barbara… _please…_" Despite her pleas, Kara did not release her grip on her. Slowly, the world began to fade in Batgirl's vision, and she was losing her grip on Kara's hand.

In the semi-darkness, a dim, green glow appeared and filled up half of Kara's face. The blond Kryptonian let out a soft gasp and slackened her grip around Batgirl's neck. The redhead slipped out of her hand, and dropped to her knees as she coughed loudly, massaging her nearly crushed throat. She turned her gaze back up when she heard Kara cry out, she was stumbling back as the green glow got steadily brighter. Batgirl blinked, and then turned her gaze to the side to see Beacon standing next to her, holding the shard of Kryptonite.

* * *

As the Halfa continued to trek towards Kara, the Kryptonian kept moving backwards, grunting in pain. She held her hands in front of her eyes in an attempt to block out the effects of the radiating meteorite. Eventually, Kara could take it no more and collapsed to her knees. Her entire body began to tremble as Beacon loomed closer with the radioactive meteorite.

Beacon felt her eyes sting and her vision blur as she watched Kara writhe on the ground. Hearing her girlfriend scream in agony was tearing at her heartstrings. The worst thing, however, the absolute _worst _thing, was now she was the one holding the Kryptonite. Now _she_ was the one making Kara suffer.

Beacon's breathing became short and ragged, and her body began to feel numb. Her hand began to shake, and she could do nothing to control it. The muscles in her hand tightened around the cube, making it impossible for her to let go.

Kara toppled over on her hands and knees, still shaking like a leaf. Her cries of pain were getting louder as the shard of Kryptonite continued to beat its radiation down upon her. Her last saps of strength had finally faded, and her whole body fell to the ground. Beacon could hear Kara began to gasp and gag, as if there was no air around her to fill her lungs, or even worse, it could mean that Kara was losing the ability to breathe.

"Rachel?" Beacon heard someone call her name, but it sounded a million miles away. "_Rachel!_ " The voice was much closer now, and she was quite sure it belonged to Barbara Gordon.

"Rachel… Rachel, that's enough! She's down!" Batgirl appeared in the Halfa's peripheral, but still, she focused her attention solely on the blurred form of Kara, who remained on the ground, flat on her stomach. "That's enough!" Batgirl continued pleading. There was a short pause as she let out a short gasp. "You're killing her! Stop. _Stop!_ "

Beacon felt Batgirl's firm hands gave her a shove, and felt something slip out of her hands. The green glow wasn't so concentrated anymore and the Halfa blinked a few times as her vision returned, she turned on her eyes onto Kara, who had become motionless on the ground. However, it was the sight of her skin that made her widen her eyes in gut-wrenching horror. She opened her mouth to scream, only to have nothing come out. Kara's skin had become awfully, _awfully_ pale; nearly almost white.

"_Kara! _" Beacon screamed. She sunk to the ground next to the Kryptonian, and gently rolled her to her back "Kara? Can you hear me? Kara, please!" She cried as she propped the Kryptonian up in her arms.

A strand of Kara's hair slipped across her face, but other than that, she remained silent, her eyes closed. "No, _no_…" Beacon shook her head with deep incredulity. She lowered her head to Kara's chest, and closed her eyes as she toned everything else out. For a second, she heard nothing. A wave of despair rushed over her and her muscles began to tense up, making her whole body tumble.

Then, she heard it… the beat of Kara's heart was ever so faint, but it was definitely there. All of Beacon's breath was gone as she lifted her head back up. Her lips painstakingly formed a grin, and fresh tears began to flow down her cheeks.

Batgirl, who had taken the time to retrieve the Kryptonite, was also on her knees directly across from them, and she too was relieved to tears when she realized her best friend was still alive. However, there was still one little piece of business that needed to be taken care of. She opened a compartment on her utility belt, and pulled out a small glass vial. She shifted closer to Kara's head, and turned to Beacon. "Tilt her head," she instructed softly.

The Halfa nodded, and did as Batgirl said. The small movement caused Kara's lips to part slightly, but it was enough for Batgirl to empty the contents of the vial into her mouth.

"There," the redhead announced as she leaned back on her heels, "that should do the trick."

At those words, Beacon's muscles seemed to be finally relaxing for the first time tonight; all those mixed emotions of fear and uncertainty were slowly fading away. Her lower lip started to tremble as new tears began to brim in her eyes. "T-Thank you," she mumbled.

Batgirl's lips curled up into a lovely smile. Slowly, she leaned forward, and wrapped her arms around the Halfa in a gentle embrace. "Don't mention it," the redhead contended as they broke apart, "she's my best friend; I'd do anything for her." Beacon beamed at the redhead, and realized that she was a true friend. Even though Kara could have easily killed her, she was willing to look past everything to help her friend in need.

The Halfa blinked however, when she saw Batgirl's face fall, as if some horrible thought had worked its back into her brain. "Rach, can I ask you something?" Her voice sounded tense, and it sent chills down Beacon's spine.

"W-what is it?" she replied, albeit hesitantly.

"Why didn't you let go of the Kryptonite?" asked the redhead. "Why didn't you stop?"

Beacon's mouth dropped at the question. "I-I…" She turned her eyes away, and rabidly racked her brain for a way to completely the sentence. She had no idea how to explain. Even if she had, what would Batgirl think of her?

Beacon looked at her girlfriend's face once more, and quickly realized how off her dark colored lips made her look. Using her glove like a handkerchief, she wiped back and forth across Kara's lips until they were back to they were back the way they used to be, back into that perfect shade of red that she adored so much, and so desperately wanted against her own lips.

"I-I don't know," Beacon confessed. She paused for a moment to swallow, her throat suddenly became dry, "I think it's… I've seen what Kryptonite does to her, and so I guess when I… when I realized _I _was the one torturing her… I just… just…" As her sentence faded into a whimper, she raised her trembling hand, and gently brushed a loose strand of hair from Kara's face.

"I'm- I'm so sorry, Kara." The Halfa cried as she cupped the Kryptonian's face. "I would never hurt you. _Never_."

A split second after Beacon ended her words; Kara's eyelids began to flutter. Beacon felt her heart jump to her throat as she and Batgirl both watched with pulse-pounding anticipation. Slowly, the Kryptonian's eyes began to open, and Beacon could swear that she was looking into a pair of bright-blue diamonds instead of irises.

"R-Rachel…?" Kara's strained voice escaped her throat. She moved her eyes over to stare at her redheaded best friend. "B-Barbara? What's going o-?"

"_KARA!_ "

Both Beacon and Batgirl blasted her name out in a scream; their words echoed throughout the entire park. The two girls pulled themselves closer to the Kara and for a moment, the three of them simply remained on the spot, sharing a cheerful embrace.

"How are you feeling?" Beacon asked as they separated.

"Um, I think I'm-" Kara winced and quickly clutched a spot on her forehead. Beacon and Batgirl called out to her, but she just dismissed it with a lazy wave of the hand. "I'll be fine, I just have a headache, that's all." She lowered her hand to her chest, and suddenly paused. She jerked her eyes downward, and then furrowed her brow when she saw her outfit.

"Uh, what am I wearing?" Kara questioned. "In fact, where are we, and how did I?" She gasped as the memories came rushing back to her, turning to Batgirl, she resumed. "Where're Harley and Ivy?"

At the question, Batgirl's face fell. "Gone," she answered simply, "I had them right where I wanted them, and they still got away." The hands resting on her knees balled up into tight fists.

"Don't blame yourself, Barb." Beacon insisted. She gently reached out with her hand, and placed it over Batgirl's, prompting her to ease up. "You did well tonight, that's all that matters." The corner of Batgirl's mouth rose as she nodded.

"Hey, can I ask something?" Kara's question shifted their focus back to her. "Can you guys fill me in on what exactly happened? And, more importantly, can we start our Spring Break now?"

Beacon and Batgirl both blinked, and then chuckled, and then their chuckles turned to into full-fledged laughter. "_What? _" Kara bellowed irritably. "I'm serious."

Batgirl slowly raised her finger to her eye, and wiped away a tear. "S-sorry," she replied, "it's just after everything that happened tonight… I could use a good laugh."

Kara raised her eyebrow, and then turned to look back up at Beacon, who had the same, happy smile on her face as Batgirl. "I'd be more than happy to start our break now, Kara." She stated. "But before all that…" She stopped talking, and leaned her head down to capture Kara's lips.

Both of their muscles relaxed, and their hearts began to flutter. Beacon felt jolts run up and down her entire body as the warmth of Kara's lips pulsed in through hers in waves.

Reluctantly, Beacon and Kara broke off their tender kiss, and pressed their foreheads together as they gazed intently into each other's eyes; both of their giddiness had rendered them breathless.

"T-that…" breathed the Halfa, "was _long _overdue."

Kara's pants were heavier considering she had not fully recovered all of her strength. However, she still managed to perk up a smile, and brush her fingers on Beacon's cheek.

"You're-you're absolutely right." She replied softly.

* * *

**There you go, folks. **

**Even though I want nothing but the best for Rachel and Kara, it would be interesting if they never encounter struggles as a couple. So I thought it would be nice to challenge their relationship, and in the end, make them stronger together because of it.**

**Once again, I want to thank Jaguarspot suffering through all of my laughable mistakes on the draft of this chapter. It's good to have a fresh set of eyes to look everything over.**

**Thank you all for reading, and I hope you favorite, follow, and review.**

**Having a good Thanksgiving everybody. I know it's early, but it couldn't hurt...**


	21. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: JL and DP don't belong to me!**

**First things firsts, I would like to apologize for being away, the stress or balancing college and home life nearly me on the ropes. However, I would like to thank you all for still reading and supporting this story, and I would like once again to thank Jaguarspot of taking the time to go through this chapter. Do not be deterred, I have not abandoned this story and do not have plans to.**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 15

**The Watchtower**

News of Kara, Rachel, and Barbara's exploits with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy spread quickly throughout the entire Justice League. For days, all the talk on the Watchtower was how much of a 'fairy tale story' the whole ordeal was, with Kara being the infamous damsel in distress, and Rachel being her knight-in-shining armor, or more accurately, her '_Guardian _angel'. Although Rachel was unsure what to make of her fellow Leaguers' comments, she was certain that it wasn't fair for her to take _all_ the credit. After all, Barbara was really the one who had saved the day, if she hadn't been there to knock the shard of Kryptonite out of her hand… who knows what could have happened to Kara.

Rachel was currently in her ghost form standing at hers and Kara's usual spot: the hallway with the large window that overlooked the Earth below. The couple had agreed to meet up after Kara had fulfilled her promise to speak with Clark. The week earlier, and immediately following Kara's recovery, she had received a call on her communicator from her older cousin, who had cut right to the chase and demanded that she return to the Watchtower or the Kent Farm. Kara, of course, downright refused; she told him there was no way she was going to give up the chance to spend some quality time with her closest friends, especially after everything that had just happened. Naturally, this sparked yet another argument between the two Kryptonian cousins.

If memory served Rachel correctly, Kara and Clark had spent nearly half an hour bickering back and forth before finally coming up with some sort of compromise. According to what Kara told her: Clark _did _let her go on her break, but in turn, she had to swear not toappear anywhere as Supergirl, _and _she had to come speak with Clark the moment she got back.

* * *

Rachel turned her head when she sensed someone approaching at the end of the hallway. Her eyes lit up and her lips curled into a gentle smile when she saw Kara emerging from around the corner. However, the Halfa's face fell almost instantly when she took a closer look at Kara's face. The Blond Kryptonian's lips had formed into a deep frown, the tip of her nose was slightly red, and her face was shining with tears.

_Oh, no…_ Rachel thought sullenly as her quivering heart sank to her stomach. She made her way over to meet Kara. "W-What happened?" She asked softly when they were face-to-face. Kara's eyes remained firmly locked onto the floor, and the only response she gave was a light sniff. Rachel slowly sighed through her nose and took another step forward to wrap her arms around Kara. As their bodies made contact, Kara let out a series of whimpers, and then she buried her face on Rachel's shoulder, clutching onto the Halfa's back like a lifeline.

For a few agonizing moments, the Blond Kryptonian just stood there in Rachel's arms, sobbing in her own despair. The Halfa did not mutter a single word, and just tried her best to steady her trembling girlfriend. She knew Kara's conversation with Clark had obviously gone very, _very _bad, but Rachel would have never imagined that the outcome would be like this. _What did he say to her?_

Instead of asking Kara for answers again however, Rachel decided to wait until she was calm enough to speak. Her trembling did seem to be stopping, which was clearly a good sign. "Heh, heh," Kara tried desperately to speak clearly, but her ragged breathing was preventing her from forming words.

"It's okay, Kara, it's okay," Rachel assured her, "take you time, just relax."

Kara removed her face from Rachel's shoulder, where her tears had left a small wet patch on her jacket. When her breathing had returned to its normal pace, Rachel noticed her expression had become rather hardened.

"J-just who the heck does h-he think he is?!_"_ Kara croaked as she wiped away any lingering tears.

By 'who', Rachel easily deduced that Kara meant Clark, but she still did not know what caused her to be in such a state. "What did you two talk about?" she asked.

Kara scoffed. "It wasn't much of a conversation, he started telling me about how worried he was, and then how happy he was when he found out I was okay. And for a second, I actually believed him."

Rachel frowned when she saw Kara crease her brow and her hands close into tight fists. "Then he told me that maybe it'd be a good idea if I took more time off of missions." Kara continued.

"So basically, you rejected his idea?" The Halfa's question sounded more like a statement.

"I did more than that." Kara admitted. "I yelled right at his face and told how stupid it was, and then I demanded an explanation from him." Her eyes fell again, and her body started to shake as fresh tears brimmed in her eyes.

"And what did he say?" Rachel asked, despite knowing that she was playing with fire.

"The usual," Kara replied abrasively, "he told me to be patient, that he wanted me to be safe, a-and it was only temporary. But it's all a load of-of…" She wasn't able to finish as she broke into tears for the second time.

Upon seeing this, Rachel's lips fell into a flat line, and embraced Kara again. "I'm so sorry, Kara," She whispered. The Halfa immediately felt a wave of shame flow through her, her girlfriend was in tears, and that cheesy, typical statement was all she could say to comfort her?

After a few minutes, Kara seemed to have managed to calm down again. She straightened up, and took a step back. However, Rachel's hands maintained a solid grip on Kara's arms, acting as anchors in case she broke down again.

"He's always been like this." Kara exclaimed. "When he brought me to Earth, he tried to keeping me cooped up with his folks; they were nice enough to take me in, but sill, I told him numerous times I could help."

Rachel studied her girlfriend intently as she chose her response with great care. "He just wants you to be safe, Kara."

"Well, he _should _know it's pretty hard to be 'safe' in our line of work!" Kara argued.

"I don't think that's what he meant." Rachel replied. When Kara rapidly blinked in confusion, the Halfa elaborated. "You and Clark are the last two Kryptonians, So even though, in his eyes, Mister and Misses Kent _are _his parents, _you _are his last link to his heritage, and… I think he just doesn't want to lose that… or you."

Kara blinked again before turning her eyes to the window. She could sense the truth in Rachel's words, both she and Clark were the last of their race, and despite their differences, at the end of the day he was still her cousin, and nothing can change that… but still… "That may be true," she said, "but I chose to be Supergirl. _I chose _to accept the risk."

Rachel breathed a slow sigh before speaking, "and he understands that, but he just doesn't want to see you get hurt, and who knows? He _did_ say that this was only temporary."

While what Rachel had been saying sound authentic and true to her nature, that last sentence made Kara narrow her eyes suspiciously. "Y'know, Rach? It almost sounds like you agree with him."

At the accusation, Rachel did not appear to move a muscle, but Kara's super-enhanced vision was able to notice her twitch ever so slightly. She widened her eyes as she opened her mouth to release a sharp gasp.

"You do! You _do _agree with him!" she jabbed as she slowly retreated out of Rachel's grasp.

Rachel winced, and her eyes fell to the floor. The temperature in the entire hallway seemed to have dropped fifteen degrees as silence drowned everything out.

"Why do you agree with him?" Kara asked after a few seconds or so. The hurt in her voice was unmistakable, and Rachel bit her lower lip as guilt loomed over her like a dark and stormy cloud.

"Rachel!" She never expected Kara to yell, and it startled her enough to make her jump. When she looked at Kara's, the Halfa noticed all the shock and hurt were replaced with anger and hostility. "Tell me! Why?!" Kara finished aggressively.

Deep down, Rachel wished she could take it all back, to say that she didn't mean it, but Kara would know it was a lie, and she would be lying to herself.

"It's just…" Rachel began stutteringly, she found it difficult to look into Kara's eyes; they resembled shards of ice that could very well pierce her heart. "… I nearly killed you..."

Kara scoffed and shook her head. "Rach, we've been over this! I would've killed Barbara, and then I would've killed _you._"

"Well, two wrongs _don't _make a right." Rachel retorted sharply. "I had to subject you to the effects of Kryptonite, and _watch,_ and before that, I watched you get injected with that stuff."

Kara furrowed her brow in confusion. "What're you talking about?" she questioned. "I was never injected with Kryptonite."

Rachel winced again, and this time she spun on the spot, turning her back to Kara. Of course, she never remembered what happened to her, and now Rachel realized she had little choice but to divulge that heart-breaking memory to her girlfriend.

The Halfa turned back to face Kara, but still could not muster up the will to look into her eyes. "About a week ago, after you told me about spring break, you and I were sent forward to the future to stop a man threatening to destroy all of reality."

As Rachel explained everything that happened during the Chronos mission, Kara stared at her with watchful eyes. The Halfa was explaining everything in great detail, but she herself couldn't register the slightest fraction of it.

When Rachel got to the part where Kara was injected with liquid Kryptonite, her speech began to stutter, and she was pausing longer between words. Eventually, Rachel told Kara that her 'other' self was killed when she was pulled into the void.

The moment the story was finished, silence surrounded the two girls again. Rachel was trying to recollect herself after reliving that nightmare, while Kara was simply trying to take it all in. So Rachel had to watch her die, and before all that, _she _had to watch Clark, and the others heroes die. The feelings associated with that knowledge were too complicated to put into words.

"But-But… you said the timeline was fixed." She remarked. Rachel looked at Kara, eyes narrowed. "So then… that never happened! Technically, I never died."

Rachel's mouth actually dropped opened at her statement. It was unbelievable, she had just spent the last five minutes telling Kara of that horrible time travel experience, and she chose that moment to be stubborn. "Well, I remember it clear as day!" The Halfa countered. "Besides, it _could _still happen, and it nearly _did!_ "

"Well, we can't live life worrying about 'what if's', Rach!" Kara exclaimed with venom. "This is the reality we face every day."

Kara's comment felt like a slap across Rachel's face. Her eyes began to sting, and liquid started to fill her lower eyelids. After blinking several times to clear her vision, the Halfa resumed. "I just want to keep you safe- I-I don't want to lose you either."

"So, you think 'grounding' me is the proper solution?" demanded the Blond Kryptonian.

Slowly, Rachel's head drooped, making her eyes disappeared behind her bangs. She couldn't believe what was happening; that her life at the moment consisted of arguing with the person she cared so much about.

"You know something?" Kara spoke again, prompting the Halfa to meet her eyes. However, she wished she had not, because she could not bear to look at the hurt and spiteful expression on her face. "Of all people, I expected you to understand and support me on this, but it looks like I was wrong."

The Blond Kryptonian turned on her heels, and started to walk away, but at the last second, Rachel reached out, and caught hold of her hand. "Kara, _please_." She begged.

Kara whipped around harshly to glare at Rachel, but when she saw the Halfa's tears stricken face, her look softened. "I-I _do _understand," Rachel sobbed as she firmly squeezed Kara's hand.

Her words seemed to have gotten finally through to Kara, because she breathed a long, drawn-out sigh before responding. "I'm sorry, Rachel," she said in a much softer tone, "but I need some space."

With that, Kara slipped out of Rachel's grasp, and started walking away from her. The Halfa wanted nothing more than to reach out for her again, but somehow, her body resisted the urge to move. As a result, all she did was gaze at Kara's back until she disappeared behind the corner.

* * *

Rachel was no stranger to the cold; she had spent years becoming accustomed to the sensation, and the fact that she was part ghost meant her body temperature was naturally lower than the average human's. However, _this _sort of cold was different; it was seeping into the deepest part of her bones, making her feel stiff, and sending painful shivers throughout her entire body.

The Halfa had no idea where she was going; she only knew that her legs were slowly carrying her forward. Her gaze was down at the floor, but all she could see, was Kara, looking angry, hurt, and betrayed.

_That's it, isn't it? _Her voice spoke in her head. _I betrayed her. _The evidence was clear: Kara came to her needing her support, but instead of giving her that, she chose to turn her back on her._ What kind of person would do that to their partner?_

Even amongst the silence, Rachel's ears could hear the blond Kryptonian's voice as clearly as if she was right next to her. _"Why do you agree with him? …Of all people, I expected you to understand and support me…"_

Beacon agreed with her completely. Under most circumstances, she would always support her. However, the fact of the matter is Kara was still very impulsive and inclined to jump into situations without thinking of the consequences, and the incident made her realize how close she was to losing Kara.

Without warning, a blurred image flashed in her mind's eye against her will. She couldn't make out what it was, but somehow, it seemed familiar, _too _familiar.

Rachel felt her lungs tighten violently, causing pain to erupt throughout her chest. Instinctively, she clutched onto her chest and took several deep breaths in an attempt to relieve the pain. It didn't work; her lungs utterly refused to inflate, and the pain was becoming worse with each passing second. She gave a small, but sharp, grunt as she stopped in her tracks.

Now her heart had begun to pound, adding more to the already excruciating agony. Rachel's knees gave out and she fell towards the side, she would have been on the floor had the metal wall not been there. She tried to push herself back upright, but her legs were now shaking and could not hold her weight. Slowly, she leaned her back against the wall, and slid down to the floor.

_What's going-? _ She gasped as another shot of pain erupted through her chest. She tried to take in another deep breath, but her lungs remained its painful spasm. Although her heart continued to pound rigorously like a jackhammer against her ribcage, her brain rapidly worked to figure out this issue. Why was she losing her breath? Ghosts didn't need to breathe. Was she going into some sort of cardiac arrest? _No, that_ _can't be it! _Ghosts weren't known for getting heart disease either. So, what was happening?

Something flashed in her mind again, but with the amount of pain she felt, what she saw became distorted. She closed her eyes and tried to focus. A split second later, an image appeared. It was the same image as before; only this time everything was clear. The image was of something, or some_one _in her arms, a girl, by the looks of it. Her chin-length, dark purple hair looked disheveled, and the individual strands were spread across her face as though they were wind swept. Her eyes were shut, and her skin was as pale as a sheet.

_Ari? Ari! _Rachel heard her own voice echo everywhere as she shook the girl in her arms. There was no response. She wanted to shake her again, thinking that maybe the first time was not enough to jolt her into waking. Although before she could, Ariella's form began to change. Her facial features started to shift; her hair had grown to a considerable length, and had changed color.

_K-Kara? _Rachel's voice rang out again. Once again, nothing came back to her. The girl in her arms remained completely still… and cold.

Before Rachel could stop herself, a cry thundered out of her throat. Her eyes shot open, and she realized that she was still in a stretch of hallway on the Watchtower. Her heart was still pumping rapidly, but her lungs seemed to be easing up, allowing her to take in slow, and steady breaths.

Even with her eyes fixed on the opposite wall, all she could _see _were the two images that flashed in her mind. First, it was Ariella, and then… Kara, both dead in her arms. _No! _She thought abruptly, _that can't happen again… Not again… _She was becoming breathless again, and felt steady pressure build behind her eyes. Slowly, the Halfa curled her legs close to her chest, and started crying.

* * *

Rachel had no idea how long she was lost in her tears. So it took her a moment or so until she heard the beeping sound in her right ear. She lifted her head, and absentmindedly turned towards the sound, only to blink when she found herself staring at the end of the hallway. She heard the sound again, and this time, after taking a second to focus, she realized the sound was coming from her communicator. She wanted nothing more than to ignore it, but then again, she wanted to the beeping to stop even more.

She wiped away her tears, and then pressed the button on the communicator with two fingers. "Y-yeah?"

"_You have been selected to for a mission. Please report to the staging area for debrief._" It was Echo's synthetic voice, and before Rachel could ask any questions, the connection ended. It took a second for her to realize it was an automated message that the miniature robot created when he first started working at the monitoring station alongside J'onn. Echo had purposed that creating such a message and then using the frequency of the communicators to select specific Leaguers would improve the League's operational efficiency. Thankfully, J'onn accepted without argument. In the end, Rachel had to admit, things on Watchtower _did _seem to run smoother now that Echo was free to help, as long as he stayed within the parameters set by Batman.

Rachel uncurled herself and, using the wall as a brace, slowly lifted herself back to her feet. She was glad, and honestly a bit surprised that the pain from before had vanished. She thought that perhaps her worrying about Kara had sparked the manifestation of the horrible images she saw, and now those very images were being blocked out by the knowledge of a mission, or at least temporarily anyway.

Before she stepped off again, she decided to take a second to reevaluate herself; she did not want to show up to the briefing looking like a wreck, which would be unprofessional, not to mention, potentially humiliating. She blinked several times to ensure all the tears were gone, and then ran her hands through her hair, and found that not a single strand was out of place. After feeling satisfied with her physical appearance, the Halfa walked out of the hallway, and towards the briefing station.

* * *

It took barely a second for Rachel to figure out that she was in fact, late to the briefing. From what she could tell, almost every member of the League were in attendance, all of which, had their gaze tilted slightly upwards, where Echo was floating a few feet above them, and with a giant monitor to his left. While seeing Echo wasn't anything out of the ordinary, Rachel was a bit surprised to see that her robotic friend was the one giving the mission brief; usually J'onn was the one conducting them.

Shifting her focus to the monitor, she saw an image of what looked like an island in a middle of a vast ocean. At the center of the island was a tall, concave volcano with thick, black smoke billowing from the top.

"…_The magnetic signatures from the volcanic activity will more than likely interfere with the ground teams' communication with the Watchtower._" Rachel turned back to the robot when he started speaking again. "_I will do what I can to boost the signal._" He stopped for a moment to scan the Leaguers under him. "_That concludes the brief; at this time please make your way to your designated Javelins. The islanders are depending on you. Good luck._"

The Leaguers either murmured or nodded in acknowledgement, and then everyone started fanning out and made their way to the Javelin bay. Rachel however, simply stood rooted to the spot, looking utterly perplexed.

While everybody else made their way to the Javelin bay, Rachel stepped forward into the crowd of heroes. " 'cuse me… Pardon me… Sorry…" She muttered the sequence of words absentmindedly as she bumped into several heroes. She took several more steps before a revelation smacked right across the face. After shaking her head at her own foolishness, Rachel lifted herself into the air, and headed straight for the monitoring platform. When she landed, she noticed Echo was floating a few feet in front of her with his attention focused on the monitor overhead.

"_Greetings, Beacon._" The miniature robot spoke without turning around.

"H-hi." the Halfa replied in a slightly nervous tone. "I, um, I missed the meeting."

"_I was well aware of your absence,_" said Echo, "_I calculated you only received approximately one percent of the brief."_

"So then, can you give me the other 99 percent?"

"_Certainly._" Echo turned, and looked Beacon right in the eye. "_However, due to time restraints: I will have to give you a condensed version of the mission briefing._" Beacon nodded, and the robot began. "_The Leaguers participating in the mission will be split into two teams: one will be conducting search and rescue, while the other will be acting as escorts to ferry the inhabitants to another island. Given your abilities; you have been assigned to the search and rescue them._"

"Got it." Beacon acknowledged. "I'd better get down there." She turned on her heels and was about to hop off the platform when Echo stopped her.

"_Beacon, may I ask you a question? _"

The Halfa arched an eyebrow as she turned back to her friend. "Okay? What is it?"

"_Do you feel that you are content with participating in this mission?_"

The question felt so arbitrary to the point where it took Beacon several seconds to process. However, even after that time, she still couldn't figure out Echo's intention. "What do you mean?" she had to ask.

Echo didn't immediately answer the question, but instead chose to float closer to Beacon first, "_Based on your behavior in the security footage,_" He informed, "_I calculate a 98.62 percent probability that you recently suffered an episode of overwhelming anxiety, or what is more commonly known as a Panic Attack._"

A massive jolt through Beacon's heart as her hand shot straight to her mouth. She shook her head frenziedly at her own stupidity. _Of course _Echo would have seen footage of her; no one could even sneeze on the Watchtower without it being caught on camera. However, that wasn't what worried her at the moment. _No_, what had her worried was who else besides Echo might've seen it.

The Halfa slowly lowered her hand, and turned her gaze back to Echo. "D-did anyone else see me?" she asked slowly

"_Negative_." Echo answered, Beacon breathed a small sigh of relief. "_However, I strongly recommend that you seek medical attention. Or at the very least schedule a counseling session with the Martian Manhunter._"

That minute relief Beacon felt was instantly crushed at Echo's second suggestion. "Uh-, no, I-I-I d-don't-"

"_I understand informing your problems to another party may provoke a sense of unease._" interrupted Echo, his voice still sounding clam. "_However, seeking assistance would not only resolve the issue, but will also, more than likely, prevent any further incidents._"

"I-I just…"

"_The meeting does not necessarily have to be held at this time._" Echo explained. "_Martian Manhunter is still in a meeting, and you still have an assignment to complete. I can schedule the meeting to occur after everything has-_"

"Echo!I said _NO! _" Beacon exclaimed.

The outburst was followed by silence, Echo remained emotionless, and it was times like this where Beacon would feel both annoyed and guilty; Echo was literally impossible to read, so she had no way of knowing if she had offended him in some way.

"Echo… I-I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" Beacon's eyes fell in shame; this day just kept getting worse; first, she got herself into an intense argument with Kara, and then she raised her voice against one of her oldest friends. She did not mean to yell, she understood that Echo was just trying to help her with whatever problems she had, but honestly, what would she say to J'onn? She already knew of her guilt for not be able to prevent Ariella's death… or anyone in her family's for that matter, but she was also aware of her fear of not being able to save Kara for suffering the same fate. The Halfa didn't need someone to tell her what she'd already knew all along.

"_Very well, the decision was ultimately yours._" said Echo, "_However, I strongly recommend it; the best remedy for grief is close contact with friends and/or loved ones._"

"I-I realize that, Echo." The Halfa replied apologetically. "Thank you."

They remained silent for another moment before the miniature robot rotated his body in the air, and returned to his station. "_At this time, it would be prudent for you to make your descent onto San Baquero, for all of its inhabitants require evacuation._"

Beacon blinked a few times before remembering the mission at hand. "Right, I'm off then." She turned, hopped off the platform, and headed straight for the Javelin bay.

* * *

As the evacuation mission went underway, the founding Leaguers were discussing another crucial predicament. Earlier in the day, Batman had managed to sneak into the house of Amanda Waller, their one lead on Project Cadmus. After a rather 'aggressive' discussion with the woman, the Dark Knight returned to the Watchtower to share what he discovered to his fellow founders. However, Flash did not seem too thrilled to be sitting in the conference room.

"How long is this going to take?" The speedster demanded. "I thought we had an island to evacuate."

"First team's already down there." Wonder Woman replied. "We'll join them as soon as we're done." She shifted her gaze over to Batman. "I want to hear what you learned."

"Project Cadmus' in the business of developing weapons," Batman announced, "Specifically to fight us."

"They're worried we've grown too powerful, and they want to even the odds." Martian Manhunter stated grimly.

"Exactly," Batman spoke again, "They were behind that business with the Ultimen, and the Supergirl clone."

At the mention of his cousin, Superman felt an uneasy chill crawl through his skin. It made him think of Kara, and the argument they had earlier. In all honesty, he would be lying to himself if he thought that his cousin would not object to his decision, but he never expected her to react with _such _intensity. He suspected that final act must have stretched their already strained relationship to a breaking point, and now, Superman felt fear and shame loom over him. What was he doing wrong? He had at least made efforts to reconcile with Kara, but only succeeded in driving her further away.

"What are they so worried about?" Flash's question jolted Superman out of his thoughts, and he refocused his attention back on the meeting at hand. "We'd never try to take out like that."

"The Justice Lords did, in their dimension." Batman countered without hesitation. "What's to stop us?"

"Me. Those guys went over board because their Flash died." The speedster answered, and then he leaned back in his chair with a rather smug grin. "So as long as you focus on keeping _me _alive, that'll never happen here."

There was silence in the room as the other founders stared at Flash, all of which looked downright unconvinced. "Let's put a pin in that theory to discuss another time." Manhunter suggested.

"I've seen the federal budget," said Superman finally, "there's no funding for a 'Project Cadmus'. Where's the money coming from?"

"We're all thinking the same thing." Manhunter answered.

"Luthor." Wonder Woman deduced with venom in her voice.

Over the course of the past few months, the media ran numerous stories about how the billionaire was a 'reformed' man, and a solid candidate for the Oval Office.

"The obvious suspect," Batman stated, "he funded General Hardcastle's rouge operations. But if he's bankrolling Cadmus, he's doing an excellent job of covering his tracks. I've got The Question looking into it and…"

Nearly all of the founders groaned at the mention of the faceless hero. Who had earned a distinct reputation of going on and on about countless conspiracy theories.

"Not the kook!" Flash complained.

"I admit he's wound a bit too tightly," Batman confessed, "but if anyone can find a hidden link between from Luthor to Cadmus, he's the man. In the end time, I'll be following the trail from Waller's end."

One by one, each founding Leaguer nodded in acknowledgement, and then Flash spoke up again. "So we're done, right?" he asked impatiently. "Because y'know, island? – volcano? – evacuate?"

* * *

The cafeteria was nearly empty as most of League was heading down to Earth to help with the evacuation mission. Kara found herself sitting alone at a table in the center of the room with a mug of coffee in front of her. At first, the blond Kryptonian had thought that perhaps drinking her favorite brew would somehow quench the sorrow she felt inside, but after a couple of sips, the drink was left untouched. Now, the dark liquid was a rather fitting representation of how Kara felt on the inside: bitter and cold.

"You keep staring at that mug, kid, and it's gonna explode in your face." Kara turned towards the sound of the voice, and noticed Green Arrow approaching her. Following closely behind the Archer was a stunningly beautiful woman with golden blonde hair, and even though Kara had never met her officially, she instantly recognized the woman as Black Canary.

"Oh… Hey, Arrow, hey Canary." Kara greeted in a less-than-enthusiastic voice.

Green Arrow returned the greeting with a nod as both he and Black Canary each took a seat to Kara's left. "I gotta admit: I'm surprised to see you here." He said. "I figured you'd be on that evac mission about now.

"Yeah, well, I didn't get the call." Kara was speaking more to the mug in front of her than the two older Leaguers.

"That so?" Green Arrow asked. "Odd, from what I've heard, they need all the muscle they can get."

Kara's somber expression remained unchanged as she lazily shrugged her shoulders. Arrow and Canary exchanged looks, but the younger girl kept her gaze on the coffee mug in front of her.

"Is everything alright, Supergirl?" asked Canary in a worried tone.

Kara looked at the two older Leaguers, and then breathed a heavy sigh. "It's just- No, it isn't."

"Well, you don't have to be shy, Kara." Arrow said coyly. "If you have issues, we'll be more than happy to help you out."

Kara stared at the Archer and felt her spirits lift slightly. Ever since she met him during her very first mission in the League, Green Arrow had become sort of a big brother to her, even though his sense of humor can make it hard to take him seriously at times.

Kara sat a little straighter on her chair, took another deep breath, and then told Arrow and Canary everything; beginning with her meeting with Superman and ending with her argument with Rachel. When she finished, Kara found herself panting as though she had just finished a marathon without her powers.

As Kara worked to steady her breath, Black Canary slowly reached out to place her hand onto of the younger girl's forearm. "I can definitely see what made you so frustrated, Kara. May I call you Kara?"

The Kryptonian stiffly nodded, and then clapped her hands over her eyes. "I just don't get it." She exclaimed. She lowered her hands and turned her gaze back to Canary. "I mean, she understands the risks of being a hero as much as I do."

"Well, I don't want to speak on Rachel's behalf, that wouldn't be fair to either of you." Canary replied matter-of-factly. "I will say this though; I know it's hard being sidelined, even though you know you can still contribute."

Kara blinked at the older woman; she could sense there was more than she was letting on. "There's a '_but' _in there somewhere, isn't it?"

Canary lightly chuckled, but then her expression became serious. "There's no doubt you're a tough girl, sweetie. Though the thing is, with your powers, they make it easy for you to forget that you _are _still vulnerable."

"What?" Kara questioned, sounding offended. "I do too know I can be vulnerable. Just like the rest of you."

"Well, not exactly." Green Arrow chimed in. He frowned deeply when Kara glared at him with her furious eyes, and for a second or two, the Archer was certain he saw her eyes glow slightly red. On impulse, he threw his hands up defensively. "Now, hold on, kid. Just hear me out."

Kara softened her expression, and then leaned back slightly. Taking that as a good sign, Arrow lowered his hands, and continued, "I know there's no shortage of powerhouses in this little 'heroes' club' of ours, but in terms of sheer power, you and Boy Scout are on a whole 'nother planet… No pun intend."

Kara narrowed her eyes, not sure where Arrow was going with this. "What are you trying to say?" she finally asked.

"Think about it like this, Kara." Supergirl turned to Canary, "Arrow and I, no matter how hard we train, or how well we protect ourselves, at the end of the day, we're still as frail as any other human."

"We'll never have bulletproof skin." Arrow took over again. "We have the same chances of dying whether it's from a bullet, a knife, or a cosmic energy beam. Come to think of it, I think Rach could get hurt along those same lines too."

"Her scar definitely supports that theory." Canary added.

Kara didn't know what to say. As she thought about Canary's comment, she realized that she had never once asked Rachel how she received that permanent mark on her face. She had naturally assumed it was a result of an occupational hazard, but now, she wasn't sure.

"So, then… What I should I do?" asked Kara after a while.

At the change in her tone, Canary covered Kara's hand with her own. "One of the keys to successful relationships is effective communication." She instructed. "Seat down with Rachel, talk with her, and eventually you two will be able to work things out together."

"Well, I don't know if she can chit-chat right now," said Arrow. He laced his fingers together and brought them to the back of his head. "What with her being busy with the-_OOF!_ " He grunted when Canary elbowed his exposed ribs, causing him to double over and wretch with pain.

Kara chuckled at the man's expense, and then turned her gaze back to Canary. "Thanks for advice, Canary, eh, I think I'm gonna head to the monitoring panel." She stood up but kept her gaze on the two older Leaguers. "Then after the mission, Rach and I are gonna have a talk."

After the two women exchanged nods, Supergirl walked out of the cafeteria. Before she got too far though, she heard Arrow call out to her in a rather strained voice. "G-good luck, kid!"

* * *

The evacuation of San Baquero was in full swing, the League was scattered throughout the entire island helping the inhabitants onto the transports ships waiting at the docks. At the moment, their biggest enemy was the volcano itself; black smoke was spewing out of its peak at an alarming rate, and it was anyone's guess as to when it would finally erupt.

Beacon gingerly landed back onto the ground with a little boy in her arms. Following closely behind her were two duplicates of her carrying the boy's mother and father. The Hafla watched as the small family shared a loving embrace, then the father picked his young son, and the three of them hurried towards a nearby transport, where they were lost in the enormous crowd of people trying to do the same thing.

Although the small family was long gone, the image of the mother and father embracing their son lingered Beacon's memory. She could still easily see the sheer joy in each of their faces. Even though they were in the midst of impending doom, they were all happy to be together, to be able to hold each other.

For a moment, she saw herself, only she was a little girl again; all smiles and so full of life. She then saw her two parents: her father, who she remembered as being always gentle and open-minded. Her mother, strikingly beautiful and radiated a glow of pure kindness. Both of them literally looked happy as can be as they slowly crouched down, and pulled her in a hug. She felt the warmth of their bodies against hers. She felt the magnificent sense of undying love that only her first idols, her first heroes, and her first best friends could provide.

A strong chill smacked Beacon everywhere and wisped every trace of the warmth away. She hunched over and hugged her arms closer to her chest in an attempt to compose herself, but it proved futile when she realized that feeling she had of being in her parents' arms was all her imagination; _fake_. She would never get that feeling ever again.

And yet… she remembered another feeling of warmth; one that she had grown accustomed to over the past few months. It came in the form of smooth blond hair, bright blue eyes, and arms that effortlessly bend steel and yet remain exceedingly gentle.

_How could I be so __**stupid**__? _She thought. Kara was the light that guided her through the darkness. Her hugs were sitting in front of the fireplace during a cold winter storm. So, why would she want to push that away, to push _Kara _away? It immediately become clear to Beacon that she needed to set everything right after this mission was over.

* * *

Just then, her communicator beeped from an incoming call. She stood upright, and pressed the button. "Go ahead."

The voice she heard belonged to Echo. "_There is another series of homes approximately two kilometers east of you position. My scanners have detected life signs._"

"Got it. I'm on my way." Beacon announced. She disconnected the call, turned towards the east side of the island, and propelled herself back into the air.

"C'mon, Rach, keep it together." She mumbled to herself. "You still have a job to do."

* * *

With some effort, Wonder Woman steadily pushed a large boulder off the road to allow the convoy of trucks and buses through to the docks. As the last vehicle past the Amazon, Flash appeared before her in a blur.

"Everything's running smoothly down here." He informed. "How's Supes holding up on his end?"

Wonder Woman lifted her head up to look at the volcano as she answered. "He was too deep into in there for me to make anything out. "

Thanks to Echo, their communicators have been working properly for most of the night, but since Superman was in the heart of the volcano, the magnetic interference was much stronger.

"But I'll try again-" Wonder Woman activated her communicator, and spoke with a clear voice. "Superman, how's it going in there? Can you read me any better than before?"

After a few seconds, Superman's voice came through… barely, "_You're dropping in and out. It depends on where I am._"

While the evacuation was taking place, Superman had been inside the volcano itself. He had been using his body as an unbreakable plow, creating a tunnel for the magma to flow.

"I've been trying to ease the pressure off the volcano." He explained. "If I can dig some tunnels off the main core, maybe I can stop the eruption before it starts."

He eventually worked his way into a large cavity in mountain, and was then perched on top of a boulder as the magma flowed into and filled the cavity with the speed of a tidal wave. _One down, a few dozen more to go. _He thought.

"_When will you be able to tell if it's working?_" Wonder Woman asked in his communicator.

"Hard to say," Superman answered, "I can just as easily set it off; so I'll have to go slow." He turned his gaze to the walls. By using his x-ray vision, he found the spot to make his next tunnel. Before he took off again, however, he spoke into his communicator. "Just get everyone clear as soon as you can-"

The entire cavern shook, and knocked Superman off balance. Several boulders from the ceiling broke loose and crashed into the large pool of magma. When the smoke from the debris cleared, Superman saw a massive behemoth stand right before him. The thing had gray, rough-looking skin, shoulder-length white hair, and menacing, pupil-less eyes. Superman knew who this creature was almost instantly, but he never faced him personally before. Its name was Doomsday, a monster that, years ago, had crashed onto Earth, and started wreaking havoc on Metropolis.

"Superman," Doomsday said with a low, rumbling voice, "I've come here to kill you. Is this a bad time?"

The monster did not even bother to wait for an answer; he sprinted towards Superman and tackled him. The two of them flew through the air before crashing through the wall of the cavern and into another pool of magma. Doomsday kept a firm hold of Superman and began raining down punches right on his face.

Despite the pain coursing through his head, Superman eventually managed to kick the monster back with his legs. As Doomsday crashed a few yards away, the Kryptonian turned his gaze upwards, and used his heat-vision to drop a large chunk of the ceiling right onto of Doomsday.

With minor strain, Superman got back to his feet, but as he did so, Doomsday reemerged; lifting the boulder over him like it was nothing.

"I remember… those eyes." The creature bellowed with a smirk.

Doomsday heaved the boulder right as Superman, who dodged it by lifting himself into the air. However, the act gave Doomsday the opportunity to tackle him to the wall again. With a hold on Superman's throat, Doomsday brought the points of his knuckles onto his eyes, effectively blinding the Man of Steel.

"Let's see you do that again." Doomsday gloated.

Superman stumbled a bit as he vigorously rubbed his eyes. His opponent seized the opportunity and followed up with another punch, sending the dazed Kryptonian closer to the edge. He then tried to swing both of his fists right on top of Superman, but his vision had returned enough for his to dodge the attack and retaliate with two punches of his own.

Even though his attack was enough to send Doomsday flying, pain still erupted in Superman's hands. He tried shaking some of the pain off as Doomsday got back to his feet.

"I know who you are," Superman said as calmly as he could, "but I'm not the one who hurt you."

Doomsday expression remained unchanged as he answered. "Superman is Superman, and I will kill you."

Superman blinked in confusion. "Why?"

"It's what I am; I don't care why."

Their conversation ended when Doomsday crashed into Superman again, sending both of them hurdling through the air.

* * *

Wonder Woman lowered the ambulance she had been holding onto the docks, and immediately got out of the way to allow the civilian medical staff transport their patients onto one of the transport ships.

Although the Amazon was confident in their chances of success, she still wanted to be sure that they would not be in for any surprises. She activated her communicator, and spoke, "Superman, give me an update."

While she did expect the static feed, she did not expect the silence that accompanied it. Nevertheless, Superman did eventually respond. "_Ugh! Something's come up! _" There were more grunts and shout of pain before he spoke again. "_Just keep doing what you're doing- AH! _"

Both Wonder Woman's training and experience told her that Superman was clearly engaged in combat, and he was struggling. "Where are you?" she demanded. "I'll come help."

"_No! _" She heard Superman retort almost immediately. "_This isn't important; getting those people to safety is._"

Although Wonder Woman somewhat disagreed with Superman's opinion of importance; she realized he was right. The Amazon disconnected the call, turned on her heels, and sprinted back inland continue the evacuation.

* * *

"Another transport just landed on the mainland," Batman announced to Martian Manhunter and Echo. "They're over half done."

The three of them were on the monitoring platform getting constant updates on the evacuation. In addition, since they had access to live satellite feeds, they were able to task out new objectives to every member of ground team.

"_The last two transports are currently being filled._" Echo updated. "_Additionally, I have confirmation from Flash that another village has been cleared of its inhabitants._" Without warning, Echo's eyes glowed just as an alarm sounded at the panel next to J'onn. "_Alert, there is a ballistic missile en route to San Baquero. T-minus nine minutes and counting._"

Almost immediately, J'onn and Batman rushed over to the panel.

"I don't believe it," muttered the Martian.

"Based on the spectrograph, its warhead's lined with Kryptonite!" Batman noted before turning to Echo. "Can we hit it from up here?"

"_Negative,_" Echo replied. "_Its velocity is too great._"

"But… who fired it?" asked J'onn.

At his question, the eye-slots in Batman's cowl turned into thin slits. "…Waller." He growled. The Dark Knight strode over to another panel, and picked up a rather rigid looking phone.

While the Dark Knight held the phone to his ear. Echo turned to address J'onn. "_The evacuation team must be informed of the missile._" He stated rather quickly.

The Martian nodded. "Do it."

Echo turned his head forward, and opened the communications channel. "_Watchtower to Wonder Woman, there has been update: there is an inbound Kryptonite missile_ _approximately five kilometers from San Baquero_. _ETA: eight minutes, forty-two seconds_."

The Amazon's reply came almost immediately. "_Say again? _"

"_Repeat: There is an inbound Kryptonite missile_ _approximately five kilometers from San Baquero_. _Now ETA is eight minutes, thirty-five seconds_."

Just then, the sound of pistons pulling a door open came from behind them. J'onn and Batman turned their heads to see Kara, looking wide-eyed and tense.

"Supergirl, now is not best time!" J'onn informed.

"I heard everything." Supergirl replied. Normally, she would jump at the opportunity to save an island and its inhabitants from impending doom, but since there was Kryptonite in that missile, there wasn't much she could do. "But how are we going to stop it?"

Both she and Batman turned to J'onn expectantly before the latter gave them an answer. "I've informed Captain Atom; he's en route from Southern California."

"_The Captain's top velocity is approximately Mach two, it is unlikely that he would be able to reach the missile in time."_ said Echo."_However, I know who can._"

* * *

Another transport had just taken off when Beacon landed on the docks with more civilians in tow. From behind her, the volcano was growing ever more violent; the eruption was about to happen at any second now, but despite that, the Halfa was confident that she and the League would get all those people to safety.

Beacon was just about to take off again when her communicator beeped in her ear. She raised her fingers and clicked the button, but before she could even think of a greeting, Echo's voice rushed right out of her communicator.

"_Beacon, there's a Kryptronite Missile approaching from the Northeast. It will impact in approximately six minutes._"

Dread pulsed through Beacon's body upon hearing the news. "Wait, did you say Kryptonite?" she demanded.

"_Affirmative_." Echo confirmed. "_Martian Manhunter has informed Captain Atom. However he lacks the speed to intercept the missile, which leaves-_"

"…me." Beacon finished for him.

"_Precisely, and after considering the variables: I calculate that you are the next best candidate._"

Beacon did not reply, but instead turned to look back at the last transport. The other members of the League and San Baquero's mainland government were still ushering the civilians on-board. From what she could tell, all the civilians looked terrified, but ultimately hopeful that they will soon be safe. Sadly, now there was deadly projectile flying straight for them, ready to blast their hopes into ash.

There was no way she could let that happen; she can't let these people die!

"Okay, I'm on my way." With that, she disconnected the call and thrust herself into the air.

* * *

"Why didn't you let me speak with her?" Kara demanded to Echo.

During the call, the Kryptonian had tried to enter the conversation, but the miniature robot blocked her voice from getting through, and as if that wasn't enough he managed to block her communicator.

Echo turned and looked up into her eyes. "_Beacon will require her complete focus to complete the task_." He explained.

Kara glared at him. "Don't give me that!" She bellowed. "And how could you send _her?!_ She's your best friend."

"Supergirl…" Batman stepped in.

"_What?! _" She yelled.

Despite the terrifying sound of Kara's raised voice, the Dark Knight was utterly undeterred. He simply remained upright with his arms cross over his chest. "Echo made a tactical decision; that missile needs to be destroyed, _before _it hits, or everyone on that island, including you cousin, will die."

Kara clenched both of her hands into tight fists as angry tears began to brim around her eyes. "B-But after Rachel destroys it, what's going to happen to her? Who's going to save her?"

Batman's mannerisms did not change as he gave his reply, "... Maybe the _real_ question you should ask yourself is, _why_ are you still _here?_ "

Kara blinked twice at Batman before turning her gaze to J'onn, who in turn gave her a very shallow nod.

In a blur, Kara turned on her heels and sprinted away from the platform. She blasted through the hallways at break neck speeds; narrowly avoiding several other heroes and the civilian staff alike.

Eventually, Kara made her way into the Javelin bay, but at that moment, she remembered she had no idea how to pilot a Javelin. She would need to get to Earth the old-fashioned way. After adjusting her thoughts, she rushed into a room and changed into a spacesuit. Then, she ran back into the bay and stopped right before a large hatch on the floor. Her instinct told her just plow through the sheets of metal, but her brain told her such an act would risk the Watchtower decompressing and endanger the lives of everyone onboard. She turned her head to her right and located a big red button resting on a pillar. Without any further thought, she rushed to the pillar and smacked the button.

A loud alarm blared throughout the hanger as the circular hatch opened. Kara clipped her helmet into place before swan diving out of the Watchtower, and shot straight towards the San Baquero.

* * *

Beacon was pondering what she would actually do as she closed the distance between her and the missile. Her first instinct was to blow it out of the air, but a quick second thought made her refrain from following through with that plan. The Halfa was concerned that if she did take the shot, the resulting nuclear explosion would also mean her untimely demise.

Therefore, the only remaining choice she could come up with was to pull the missile out its current trajectory. With a sudden burst of speed, Beacon flew right over missile and stretched her hand out.

However, before Beacon was able to get a grip on one of the wings, she felt an intense jolt course into her arm and through her entire body. She yelped in surprise, and then violently shook her hand to relieve the pain.

"_Beacon, Status report._" Manhunter's voice said in her communicator.

"I've reached the missile," The Halfa replied, "but I can't touch it; there's some sort of electro-magnetic shielding."

She set her gaze forward and realized that both she and the missile were looming ever closer to San Baquero. She kicked her brain into overdrive; trying to come up with a solution. _I can't touch it, so intangibility's a no-go, _she thought gloomily, _but there's gotta be something _-_Anything…!_

As if on cue, Echo's voice came over her communicator. "_Beacon, the very energy you radiate could act as a viable cushion from the electro-magnetic field. Therefore you should be able to redirect the missile's trajectory._"

The Halfa blinked upon hearing those words. Then she mentally smacked herself on the forehead._ Ugh, it was so obvious. _"Great, I got it. Thanks, Echo." She quickly replied.

"_I am pleased to assist… Good luck…_"

"_The last two transports are taking off as we speak,_" J'onn chimed in, "_and_ _Wonder Woman is getting Superman._"

"Sound good." Beacon repeated before she disconnected.

With everything said, Beacon lowered herself closer to the missile to make a second attempt. She coated her hands with flickering energy, and then grabbed onto the missile's wings. Just as Echo predicted, the Halfa was successfully able to make contact without being shocked. However, it wasn't perfect; her grip, while firm, was unstable, like holding on to something drenched in oil. Beacon knew there was no time to waste; she pulled the missile hard to the side and, ultimately, away from San Baquero.

* * *

Kara breached through the last cloud layer and finally saw open sky. Maintaining her full speed, she took off her helmet, and tossed it away; the tinted visor had been obstructing her vision. Kara narrowed her eyes as everything in her field of view soar past her, then she focused San Baquero's volcano; still spewing hot smoke and ash into the air.

A distance away, Kara saw a small speck flying right at the island, but something seemed to be happening to it. Kara stared at the speck for another brief moment until she figured out that the speck was flying off course. She felt her heart skip a beat. _I've gotta hurry!_

* * *

The task of pulling the missile away from the island was already hard enough, but now Beacon had to figure out how to dispose of nuclear weapon. Her grip on both wings was continuing to slip, and the muscles in her hands were cramping from the strain. She had no idea how much time had passed nor did she know how far last two transport ships were from the island, but her instincts told her letting go would be a safe bet.

Beacon opened her hands, allowing the missile to fly on without her. She then swung wide to her left in an effort to get as much distance from herself and the missile as possible.

From the corner of her eye, Beacon saw a blinding light, and then the booming sound that followed made her entire body rumble. She realized what must be coming next; she turned intangible and kept on flying. Despite her efforts, however, clouds of smoke slammed against her body, and then blew past her in every direction. For a moment, Beacon seemed to linger in midair, but then she dropped like a stone. The last thing she saw was a thick mushroom-shaped cloud, before everything slowly descended into pitch-blackness.

* * *

When Kara saw the flash light up the dim sky, she had to cross her arms over her eyes to prevent from going blind. Unfortunately, nothing stopped her heart from jumping into her throat. As she lowered her arms and continued flying towards the dark mushroom cloud, she kept clinging onto the hope that somehow, someway, she would be able to find Rachel.

Kara narrowed her eyes again in an attempt to use her enhanced-vision. All she could see for miles were tiny, black specks of ash that slowly flickered their way down to the surface of the ocean. Kara released a shuddering breath as she scanned in every direction, only to see the falling ashes. _No_… She was too late; Rachel was gone…

Suddenly, Kara saw the faintest ripple in the water. She focused her eyes downward, and gasped when she saw Rachel's body, floating spread-eagled on surface of the water.

Without a moment's hesitation, Kara blasted towards the water. In one swift motion, she scooped Rachel up in her arms, and flew high into the air again. It didn't take much for Kara to realize that Rachel did not escape unscathed; hard to imagine anyone that actually could. The Halfa was unconscious and had changed back into a human. Her skin was covered with small nicks, but luckily, none seemed to be deep enough to draw blood. However, one sleeve of Rachel's undershirt was burned clean off, and Kara was horrified when she saw the angry burn on her forearm.

"_Supergirl,_" J'onn's voice came from Kara's communicator, "_Have you located Beacon? Is she-_"

"I've got her, J'onn," The Kryptonian quickly replied, "but she's been hurt; she needs immediate medical attention."

"_Very well, our scanners show the magnetic activity is still too high for us to teleport you._" The Martian informed. "_Head to the main land, and we'll bring you back from there_."

"On my way," with that, Kara set her sights forward, and picked up the pace.

Several hundred feet later, she felt Rachel stir and she slowed down. Kara watched intently as the Halfa fluttered her eyes open, and rolled them around a few times before looking at her.

"K-Kara?" Rachel asked in a frail tone.

"Yeah, it's me," Kara whispered back. She felt a small smile creep onto her face. "You're safe."

Rachel seemed to smile as well, but her eyes were beginning to droop. She rested her head on Kara's shoulder and she slowly drifted back into unconsciousness.

* * *

Even with the close call at the very end, the evacuation of San Baquero was a success. However, both Rachel and Superman were in serious condition. Supergirl had already been teleported back to the Watchtower with the Halfa in tow when Wonder Woman landed on the main land with the Man of Steel. Everyone, at first glance, could see the extent of Superman's injuries; his costume was torn to shreds, and there were scrapes, cuts, and bruises all over his supposedly impenetrable skin.

Before Superman teleported back to the Watchtower to receive medical attention, he informed Wonder Woman of Doomsday. Then the Kryptonian asked her to find the monster so they could question him back on the Watchtower. The Amazon nodded in understanding, and after watching him disappear in a flash of light, she immediately led a search party back towards San Baquero, which now resembled a giant of slab of rock in the ocean.

It took nearly half an hour before the team found Doomsday. The large monster was unconscious and encased in a cocoon of freshly cooled lava. Although the monster was still dormant, the Leaguers were wary about approaching him, and rightfully so, for if Superman had sustained serious injury from fighting him, they themselves stood little to no chance.

As Wonder Woman glared daggers at the dozing monster, she called the Watchtower and requested teleportation back to the Watchtower. After a confirmation from Echo, the Amazon, the search team, and Doomsday all disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

Several hours later, the founders had Doomsday moved into a secluded chamber located in the center of the Watchtower to await judgment. Normally, every founding Leaguer would've had a say on the matter, but Batman refused to participate, and Shayera didn't have a seat in the chamber yet. The Dark Knight had his arms crossed in front of him as he waited before the doors that led to the chamber. His staring contest with the opposite wall finally ended when Flash, Green Lantern, and J'onn exited the room. Batman did not return his fellow founders' greetings, instead he merely waited until Superman and Wonder Woman reached him.

"Sent him off to the Phantom Zone, didn't you?" Batman asked without any sort of preamble.

Superman remained indifferent. "He left us no choice."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Spoken like a true Justice Lord."

Superman widened his eyes, as though he couldn't believe what he had just heard. "_What? _ Come on..."

"Passing Judgment like Gods?" Batman went on. "With our super-powered army and our orbiting death-ray? Cadmus is right to be scared; the human race wouldn't stand a chance."

"We'd never go there," The Man of Steel insisted, "it isn't in our nature, and nothing can change that."

"_Nothing? _" Batman countered, holding his gaze on Superman. "What if Luthor _does _become president, like he did in their world? What would stop you from doing what that Superman did?"

Superman raised his mouth in a smirk. "There's always that Kryptonite you carry around."

After his retort, Batman took a sudden step forward, and Superman reeled back in fright, despite fully knowing that the Dark Knight had very little means to bring him harm. "You don't get to joke!" he barked. "Not after the bullet Rachel just took for you, and after what she's been through today; she's _lucky_ to have survived."

Superman's jaw dropped, instinctively he looked over at Wonder Woman for support, but the Amazon simply shrugged. Superman breathed a slow sigh and turned back to Batman. "I'm sorry, Bruce. You're right, but you don't have to worry about the Justice League, trust me; you know me."

Batman took a step back, but kept his signature glare on Superman. "Yeah," he replied in a deep tone, "I do." He turned on the spot, and walked away.

Superman felt his shoulders sink a little as he watched Batman disappear around the corner. Then he turned his head when Wonder Woman began to speak. "You know, there was only one person that could've reached her in such a short amount of time, and she wasn't on the evacuation team."

There was a moment of silence the two of them locked eyes, and even though Superman didn't speak, she could tell by his look that he had figured out who she was referring to. "From what I've seen, those two share quite a remarkable bond. Maybe you should try seeing the world from their eyes."

With those last words, Wonder Woman walked off as well.

* * *

Rachel winced sharply as the doctor, a middle-aged, balding man, dripped several drops of clear liquid onto the burn on her forearm. Beside her were Kara and Echo. The former watched with a concerned look on her face and kept a firm grip onto Rachel's free hand.

The drops of liquid were moving now, aided by the angle of Rachel's arm and the space station's artificial gravity. The Halfa turned her eyes to her wound, and even though the burn was as angry as ever, she realized the pain had subsided. In fact, Rachel could feel a slight cooling sensation on the burnt skin.

"That should clean the wound," the doctor's voice sounded pleased. Rachel turned her gaze to him to see a pleasant smile on his face, "although, I still need to bandage it, if I may?"

The Halfa nodded, and raised her arm slightly. The doctor's smile broadened and covered the burn with a white patch of dressing. The instant the fabric touched her skin; Rachel grunted and pulled her arm back slightly. She felt Kara's grip tighten around her other hand.

"Sorry," The doctor said quickly, "looks like it's still sensitive."

"I-It's fine." Rachel dismissed. "I'll be alright."

The doctor nodded and finished his bandage work. "… _And_ that should do it. Now, I'd like you to take it easy for a few days, okay?" the doctor continued. "Keep the bandage clean and change it every few hours."

Rachel nodded. "I will. Thank you."

The doctor grinned before glancing at Kara and Echo. "I, um, I'll give you three the room." With that, he exited the infirmary, leaving the trio alone.

Slowly, Kara stepped around to face Rachel and took hold of her other hand. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked.

Rachel beamed up at the Kryptonian before replying, "Better now, thanks to you." Kara's eyelids fell slightly, and her mouth curled into a tender, loving smile, but then it turned into a sad frown.

"What is it?" Rachel questioned in concern.

"It's just…" Kara swallowed before continuing, "h-how did you get hurt? You told me you turned intangible during the explosion."

Rachel opened her mouth to answer, but Echo spoke before she could.

"_Intangibility enables the user to phase through most solids and liquids._" He explained. "_However, it is useless against certain effects, such as radiation._"

In a blink of an eye, Kara rounded on the miniature robot. "Nobody asked _you! _"

In response, Rachel gave Kara's hand a gentle squeeze. "Kara," She addressed softly, prompting the Kryptonian to look back at her. "Please don't yell at him."

Kara blinked in disbelief. "R-Rach, He sent you off to die!"

Rachel breathed a slow sigh. "No, he didn't; He sent me to stop the missile and save all those people."

"_For what it is worth, I apologize for putting you in that situation,_" said Echo.

"It's okay, Echo." Rachel smiled. She extended her hand and lightly stroked the robot's cheek with her finger. "I'm fine now; that's all that matters."

A smile appeared on Echo's face before he spoke again. "_I should head to my monitoring duties._" With that, he turned and floated his way out of the infirmary.

Even the miniature robot was gone; Rachel could see Kara glaring at the door through narrowed eyes. "You're still mad at him, aren't you?" asked the Halfa

"Of course I am!" Kara exclaimed. "I'm still gonna give him an earful for he did."

"Echo doesn't have ears." Rachel replied.

Kara rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean!"

"Sure," said Rachel, "but if Echo didn't do what he did, that missile would've hit San Baquero, and needlessly to say, it would've been awful."

There was a moment of silence, and then Kara sighed. "Fine, you're right."

"Well, not always." Rachel muttered, prompting Kara to look at her questioningly.

The Halfa's gaze fell to her hands, still holding the Kryptonians. As she squeezed them firmly, her eyes brimmed with tears and her vision began to blur.

"Rach?"

"K-Kara, I-I'm sorry" Rachel sobbed. "I should've supported you. I was wrong to push you away."

The Halfa closed her eyes and the tears began to flow, but then, she felt warm and soft lips press against her own. The feeling was surprisingly blissful, and she clung onto it for as long as she could.

When the lips retracted, Rachel opened her eyes again and founding herself staring right into Kara's. The Blond was also wet with flowing tears. "Rachel, you didn't push me away," Kara said, "but I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have said those horrible things… Will-will you forgive me?"

Rachel gave a soft chuckle as she brushed Kara's tears away. "I was about to ask you the same thing."

"So-so I take that as a yes?"

"Yes." Rachel echoed.

Kara smiled in that way that only she could pull off. Without any words, both of them leaned their heads in for a second kiss. Before their lips could meet however, Rachel sensed a presence approaching. Kara must've taken notice as well, because she followed Rachel's movement. The two of them stared at the two metal doors for another brief second before they finally slid open, and the girls were unable to hide their surprise when they saw Superman enter the room.

"Clark?" Kara spoke as she frantically wiped her remaining tears away. "W-what are you doing here?"

Superman didn't answer, and instead addressed Rachel. "How are you holding up, Rach? I realize you got pretty banged up."

"Uh, well, yeah." The Halfa replied rather awkwardly. "But I'm better now, see?" she raised her arm to show him the bandage. "All bandaged up and good to go."

"Mm." Superman nodded, but then his face fell slightly. "I, uh, I wanted to come and thank you, Rachel; for potentially saving my life."

"Oh, it's no big deal." Rachel replied. "I mean, it all worked out in the end, right?"

Again, Superman nodded.

"Um, hello?" Superman turned to see his cousin slightly waving at him, reminding him that she was still there. "You didn't answer my question."

"Right," said the Man of Steel, "sorry."

He cleared his throat, and strolled over to the two girls. He took a seat on the opposite bed, while Kara took a seat right next to Rachel. "Look, I-I…" Superman began, but just as quickly, he stopped talking and stared at the floor. The room fell into silence again as Rachel and Kara stared at Superman while he rubbed the back of his neck.

Anyone with half a brain could tell that Superman was nervous, but Rachel knew better than to rush him. She squeezed Kara's hand to inform her not to speak before her cousin, and the Halfa knew Kara understood the message when she squeezed back a second later. "I-I… I was an idiot." Superman finally said.

Rachel had no idea what to make of his statement, so she chose to wait for Superman to add more to the context.

"Aaannddd your point _is_…?" Kara questioned. Rachel winced; was her message not explicitly clear?

Superman exhaled slowly before looking right at his cousin. "All this time, I kept thinking, selfishly, about what _I _wanted for you, Kara, while it never should've been like that in the first place."

Kara lurched back in her seat; her eyes were as wide as the entire room. "So-what you're saying is-"

"What I'm saying is: I'm sorry; to both of you." Superman glanced at both girls as he confessed. "I now realize I have no right over other people's decisions. So if you two are happy together, then that's fine with me."

Rachel felt her lips curl up on their own accord, but before she could say anything, there was a loud _whoosh_, and Superman fell back a little as Kara flung herself at him.

"Thank you." Rachel heard Kara whisper. She repeated the words several more times as she hugged her older cousin.

Watching the two Kryptonians embrace brought fresh tears to Rachel's eyes. Ever since she and Kara became a couple, Rachel had constantly imagined what Kara and Clark's reconciliation would be like, and now that it has finally happened, Rachel wished she had a camera capture the sweet moment forever.

"Alright, _alright_." Superman said before chuckling. He patted Kara on the back and his cousin released him. Superman got back to his feet, and took a few steps away from the two girls. Before he left though, he turned back to add something, "Just remember to be professional when you two are clocked in, we need _both _of you for the long haul, alright?"

Rachel and Kara nodded. The Man of Steel returned the gesture, and then he left the room without another word.

Rachel stared at the door a few more seconds, and then shook her head a little. If she had been told that the day would play out like it did, she would've been very skeptical. She heard Kara giggle beside her, and as she turned her head, the Halfa watched the Kryptonian twirl on the spot, before plopping back onto the bed.

Rachel couldn't help but laugh heartedly also, "Well, I told you he'd come around."

Kara beamed at her. "Yeah, I guess so." She agreed. "Though I would've preferred he'd done it _way_ earlier."

Rachel shrugged. "To think; it only took me nearly dying for you two to reconcile. I suppose next time I should-" Her words drifted off when she saw the look on Kara's face. "Too soon?"

"Ya think?" Kara answered heatedly.

Rachel shuffled closer to Kara. "Sorry." She cupped Kara's face and brushed her thumb across her cheek. "Things seem to be looking up though, doesn't it?"

Kara turned into Rachel's touch and placed a gentle kiss on her palm. The contact caused a familiar warmth to race through Rachel's body. Kara covered Rachel's hand with her own as she smiled.

"It's a start."

* * *

**A/N: Once again, I would like to thank everyone who reads this story, and if you leave any reviews or comments I would appreciate it very much. Have a good one everybody!**


	22. In-between Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: The universes in this crossover do not owe their ****allegiances to me.**

**A/N: Hey there everyone. Looks like it's that time again. I would like to thank you all for continuing to support this story!**

Beacon of Justice

In-between Chapter 7

In a quadrant of dark space, two dim, yellow lights flickered in no particular pattern. The source of the beams came from the rings on the middle fingers of the two figures' right hands. They flew alongside each other, completely unaffected by the effects of deep space, thanks to the yellow glow that enveloped their entire bodies.

"What are we searching for again, Sinestro?" asked the bigger of the two. The creature had rough, pale-green skin, bright red pupil-less eyes, and an overlapped jaw filled with razor sharp teeth. Lastly, his massive body was covered by thin layers of dark-colored clothing.

The other one, Sinestro, had a humanoid structure with a thin, pointy mustache, but the similarities ended with his red-hued skin, flat head, and pointed ears. "I've told you before, Arkillo." He said with a hint of annoyance. "Something that will help us accomplish our goals."

Sinestro pointed his yellow ring to his left. At first, there was nothing but the same darkness as before. Barely a second later however, Sinestro noticed tiny fragments appearing in his view. Without another word, Sinestro shot towards his find, and quickly scanned the area. More fragments, both large and small, appeared as he swept over them, but he quickly disregarded them as though they were meaningless to him.

"There's nothing but a load of junk." Arkillo remarked as he too scanned the area. His ring centered on a metallic head: its eyes and mouth were wide open at some long forgotten terror.

"There you are." Sinestro said rather sweetly. He was pointing his ring directly at a tiny computer chip, and even though it looked charred and had a small crack running down the center, it was enough for Sinestro to raise a conniving smirk. _"_Thisis what we have been searching for, Arkillo. _This _will allow us to destroy our greatest enemies"

"A run-down chip? What's in it?"

"Many years ago, the Guardians of the Universe…" Arkillo growled at the mention of the name, but Sinestro ignored him and continued speaking. "…sought to uphold galactic order by using an army of sentient machines called the Manhunters. But it seems they betrayed their masters, and _almost _destroyed Oa and the Green Lantern Corps."

"Why didn't they win?" asked Arkillo.

Sinestro turned to his fellow ring-bearer with a hard look. "Why else? They were beaten, and then cast out by John Stewart and his Justice League."

Another growl escaped Arkillo's throat. "So then, what can this chip tell us that we don't already know?" Arkillo questioned as he pointed at the chip.

Sinestro smirked once more. "Oh, you'll see… Observe…" He turned back to the chip, raised his ring, and shot a glowing yellow beam right at the center of the chip. After a few seconds, tiny lights began to flicker on the chip's circuitry, and then, the object spoke to the two ring-bearers.

"_Where… Where am I?_" the voice in chip, though faint, was clearly audible.

"You're in a region of deep space." Sinestro revealed. "I have traveled quite a distance to locate you and your remains."

"_Who are you?_" the chip asked.

"I am Sinestro," He announced rather smugly, "but let's cut to the chase, Manhunter. I have a proposition for you."

"_What proposition?_"

"I know the Guardians of the Universe betrayed you," Sinestro replied, "and then they casted you and your kind out like you were nothing. I'm here to offer you a chance; a chance for _vengeance _against Oa and the Green Lantern Corps once and for all."

"_Why should I believe you?_" the chip asked after a moment. "_My brothers and I were defeated even after they were at half their strength_."

"I'm glad you asked." Sinestro smirked again. "_I _possess a power that harnesses a Green Lantern's ultimate weakness; _fear_. And with you at my side, they won't stand a chance."

There was another moment of silence, and then the chip answered, "_Very well, I accept your offer._"

Sinestro let out a wicked chuckle, and raised his ring again. From everywhere around them debris began to fly in towards the chip. They began to stack themselves onto the chip, which was glowing brighter with every new layer, and then with a burst of light that seemed to fill the entire region of space, the chip was no more. Instead, in its place was a ten foot tall being with a massive metallic body. His thick, yellow armor plating glowed with the same hue as Sinestro's ring, and his eyes were ablaze with flickering gold pupils.

The Manhunter slowly examined every inch of his new body, and for a second, his mouth seemed to form in a smirk.

"Now you must pledge your allegiance to Sinestro." Arkillo demanded.

The Manhunter stopped, and then turned to meet the big ring-bearer's eyes. Suddenly, a wave of yellow energy erupted from the massive robot's body, blasting both Arkillo and Sinestro back. "_I_ _will declare allegiance to no one!_" His voice boomed throughout the cosmos.

Arkillo rolled back upright, and roared at the Manhunter. He then flew forward with his ring raised; firing energy blasts the size of bowling balls straight at the sentient machine. The Manhunter held his hand out in front of him, and created a large shield to absorb all the energy balls. As the shield faded, however, Arkillo smashed his giant fist on the Manhunter's face. The impact sent the machine flying backwards. Arkillo caught the Manhunter with a lasso created from his ring, and then yanked the automaton back for a second meeting with his fist.

Once again, the Manhunter tumbled through space. When he finally managed to steady himself, he immediately noticed Arkillo charging towards him, but this time he was ready. In one fell swoop, he caught the ring-bearer by the throat, and drove his metal fist into his midsection. A wretched noise burst from Arkillo and large drops of spit and blood shot out of his mouth. Despite being in obvious pain, Arkillo continued to struggle. The Manhunter realized he could not let this stand. He slowly tightened his grip around Arkillo's throat, threatening to crush his windpipe inch by inch.

Then, for no reason what so ever; the Manhunter's fingers stopped moving. He tried getting motion back but found that he could not no matter what he tried. Slowly, the machine realized his entire body was rendered motionless.

"_Fool!_" came the voice of Sinestro, who had recovered and flew back into the fold. "I was the one who lent you my power," he barked, "and _I _can just as easily take it away."

Sinestro's ring glowed again, and almost immediately, bits and pieces of the Manhunter's body began to fray away. The pieces started out small, but gradually began to increase in size.

"_NO!_' The Manhunter shouted in terror. "_NO! Stop!_"

"Swear you allegiance to me!" Sinestro barked.

The Manhunter's free arm and legs began to crack, and then eventually, they broke off. "_NO!_" The machine shouted again. "_I swear! I swear allegiance to Sinestro!_"

Sinestro raised another devious smirk. "There, that wasn't too difficult, was it?" he lowered his ring, and the pieces reattached themselves to the Manhunter, putting the machine back to normal. "Now release Arkillo." Sinestro added.

The Manhunter obeyed.

Arkillo took a moment to massage his throat and regain his breath, but he did this while glaring at the Manhunter with vengeful eyes.

"Now…" Sinestro continued. "It's time to for the next phase of my plan: Destroy Oa and the Green Lanterns."

Both the Manhunter and Sinestro stared into one another's eyes for a moment. Then the former turned to face the sea of debris behind him, and raised both of his arms. "Now my brothers," He called out. "_Rise_."

Every piece in the debris started flowing in complete disorder, but eventually began to coalesce into shapes. Several seconds later, Sinestro, Arkillo, and the Manhunter stood face to face with an army of Manhunters. However, most of them were missing distinct features, be it an arm, a leg, or their trademark baton weapons. There were even some with gaping holes in their bodies.

"_Manhunter Prime_." One of the front most Manhunters addressed. "_How are we here? Why do you look so different?_"

Manhunter 'Prime' slowly floated forward, and place a hand on his subordinate's shoulder. "_We have been given another chance, brother,_" he replied, "_another chance to seek revenge on those that wronged us_." He paused to scan the other Manhunters. "_However, this time we have more power that the Green Lanterns can possibly imagine._"

He raised his arms again, and specks of yellow energy flowed out of his palms. Each speck of energy slowly drifted towards the army of sentient machines. When the energies found their way into the center of every Manhunter's chest, a bright yellow glow enveloped around their bodies, and oddly enough, the Manhunters that were missing body parts became whole once again.

"_Now…_" Manhunter Prime rotated on the spot, and pointed towards outer space. "_Go my brothers! Destroy the Green Lanterns once and for all!_ _For no man escapes the Manhunters!"_

As one cohesive swarm, the Manhunters roared and shot off towards the direction their leader was pointing. While every one of them flew past, they all repeated their infamous credo:

"_NO MAN ESCAPES THE MANHUNTERS!"_

* * *

**Planet Oa**

"C'mon, Rayner! Is this the best you got?"

The Green Lantern in question, Kyle Rayner, soared along a long stretch of land towards two tall pillars. In between the two pillars was a large projection of a checkered banner. When Kyle estimate himself to be about three hundred yards and closing, several blaster turrets rose from out of the ground and began firing beams of blue plasma at him. Kyle narrowed his eyes before swerving to avoid the shots. Then maintaining his speed, he raised his right hand, aimed his green power ring and fired shots of his own. His green energy bullets struck all the turrets in succession, blowing up each one by one.

Hovering in the air several hundred feet above Kyle was another Green Lantern, however he was more muscular and had rough, pink skin. A smirk appeared on his face when he saw his fellow Lantern fly past all the turrets and continued making his way towards the pillars.

"Final hundred feet!" announced Kilowog. "Give it all you got!"

Kyle must've come to the same conclusion as well, because his ring suddenly glowed brighter as he gritted his teeth. He rocketed through the air, kicking up huge amounts of dust and rock. The checkered banner loomed closer and closer; all he needed to do was to make the last twenty-five feet.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Kyle saw something, something big and fast approaching. Although he couldn't see exactly what it was, he figured out the object was hazardous to him. It was one last obstacle, one last test. Kyle spun around rapidly, and realized the object was a speeding missile. As Kyle raised his ring once more, a semi-transparent shield enveloped his entire body a second before the missile hit him. There was a huge explosion, and more dirt flew up into air to a dust cloud. Before it settled however, Kyle emerged from the cloud, completely unharmed. With one last push, the young Lantern finally reached the pillars, broke through the checkered banner, and smiled broadly when he heard the alarm that signified his finish.

"You almost had me there," Kyle said as he regrouped with Kilowog, "but I still got past it."

Kilowog stared at his protégé, his mouth morphing into a minor grin. "Not bad, kid." he praised. "But let me show you something." With that, Kilowog began his descend to the training grounds.

Kyle's face fell and his eyes blinked behind his green mask as he followed his fellow Lantern. "What are you talking about?" he asked when caught up with Kilowog again.

Kilowog remained silent as he aimed his ring at a nearby mount of dirt. A beam of green light shot out of his ring, soared through the field, and hit the peak of the mount. A fiery explosion blew off most of the mount, and now it was nothing more than a pile of pebbles. Kilowog turned back to Kyle, who merely gazed back and forth between him and the place that he just shot at.

"You missed one." Kilowog finally revealed.

Kyle looked utterly dumbfounded; he was so surprised, it took him a few moments to found his words. "N-now, h-hang on a second, Kilowog; that turret wasn't activated!"

"So what?" countered Kilowog. "Just because the shooter isn't in plain sight doesn't mean he won't be shooting at you"

"Well… I know _that_!" Kyle bellowed. "It's just… it doesn't really matter if I missed one; I still got to the finish line without a scratch."

Kilowog opened his mouth to respond, but a distant voice beat him to the punch. "And what if that shooter comes back to kill you, or countless others?"

Kyle and Kilowog turned to see another Green Lantern land before them. This Lantern was a woman with an incredibly fit physique, short black hair, and pointed ears.

"Hey there, Katma." Kilowog addressed in a friendly tone. "Glad you could join us."

Katma Tui nodded before turning back to Kyle. "In the field, we can't leave anything to chance. If that turret _did _fire at you, you never would've seen it coming."

"Alright, _fine_." Kyle sighed. To him, Katma's words were like heavy boulders, slowly crushing his confidence. Being lectured by a one hard-nose Green Lantern instructor was already hard enough, but now he had to listen to _two_. "I messed up; I'll keep that in mind."

"Aw, don't be too hard on yourself, kid." said Kilowog sympathetically, clapping him on the back. "You did well for most of the course. It was just that one tiny mistake at the end."

"_Mistakes_ can get people killed, Kilowog." Katma advised patiently. The large Lantern rolled his eyes. This simple gesture seemed to have irritated her, because she quickly added, "We Green Lanterns have a responsibility to maintain peace and justice throughout the entire universe. We must be prepared for anything and can't afford to make any-"

Before Katma could finish her sentence, her eyes shifted to the sky. She could have easily imagined it, but years of experience told her otherwise. Slowly falling out of the sky were tiny yellow streaks of light. There weren't that many at first, but as the seconds drew past, the numbers of streaks grew exponentially.

"Come on!" Katma yelled with a commanding voice.

They all took to the air, and as they steadily gained altitude, more Green Lanterns appeared next to them; clearly, they were all curious about the same thing.

"What do ya think that is?" asked Kilowog.

Katma narrowed her eyes. "We'll find out soon enough." She replied plainly.

At that exact moment, a bright-yellow beam of energy flew straight at them, and hit a Lantern squarely in the chest. He roared with pain as his green aura disappeared. Then, he began to fall, tumbling uncontrollably through the air as Oa's gravity pulled him back to the surface. With haste, another Green Lantern made an abrupt turn, pointed her ring, and caught the fallen Lantern in a protective shield.

All other Lanterns turned their heads back to the front. Beyond a cloud layer came a series of loud and vicious shouts, and then a barrage of energy beams began raining down upon them.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Katma barked at once, but even before she finished, all the Lanterns scattered. Cries of pain littered the air as the beams struck down more Green Lanterns, while the ones that have yet to be hit kept firing in random directions and shouted for an explanation.

Instinctively, Katma, Kilowog, and Kyle banded together to create a massive shield with their rings. Their efforts appeared to be effective as the shield was blocking most of the energy beams, for the moment at least.

"What the heck is going on!?" Kilowog demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kyle replied, his voice had risen amongst the chaos. "We're being attacked!"

"By who? And What?"

Within seconds, Kilowog got his answer. Through their shield, they saw a swarm of large, mechanical figures emerge from the cloud layer, and even though all of them had flickering yellow energy enveloping their bodies, the three Lanterns instantly recognized what these creatures were.

"But t-that's impossible." Kyle murmured.

"Concentrate, Rayner." Katma commanded immediately. "We can beat them if we-"Before she could finish her sentence, the army of Manhunters aimed their batons right into the shield, and simultaneously fired.

There was an explosion that seemed to engulf the entire sky. The green shield was completely obliterated and Katma, Kilowog, and Kyle were all thrown through the air in separate directions.

* * *

When Kilowog finally recovered, his attention was immediately on the group of Manhunters flying towards him. Gritting his teeth, he raised his ring and a giant mallet appeared in his hands. He swung his construct right at the Manhunters. However, instead of destroying the sentient machines, the mallet utterly shattered into thousands of tiny fragments upon contact with their yellow shells, with its fragments vanishing a second later. Kilowog's jaw dropped open as he swerved to avoid the incoming energy beams from the Manhunters' weapons. As he worked to gain more distance, his mind raced. His constructs didn't work; it made sense considering that the group, or rather, _all _of the Manhunters seemed to be radiating yellow energy. Yellow, as all Green Lanterns knew full well, was their weakness. With that in mind, he could only come up with one solution.

"_KILOWOG!_"

The Lantern turned his head, and was then blasted backwards with a large yellow beam. He cried out in as he spun through the sky. When his finally managed to get back upright, he opened his eyes just in time to see the monstrous form of Arkillo slam into him. As they fell, Kilowog was trying desperately to keep Arkillo's snapping jaws away from his face. With great effort, Kilowog bottled up his fist and punched Arkilo away from him. The two opposing ring-bearers were now floating several yards apart, glaring into each other's eyes.

"What're you doing here, Arkillo?" Kilowog asked. "What sort of plot does Sinestro have this time?"

Arkillo growled angrily, and seemed to ignore his question. "I'm going to rip you to shreds!" He barked. "Then I'm gonna destroy the Green Lanterns."

"Oh Yeah?" challenged Kilowog. He balled up his right fist and his ring glowed again. "Well, bring it on then, _Poozer_."

Arkillo roared loudly again. He flew forward and shot an energy beam at his opponent. Kilowog responded in kind, and their beams exploded upon meeting each other.

* * *

Kyle's ears were still ringing; his vision was drifting in and out of focus. The only thing he could see was something big hanging right over him.

"Rayner!" A voice shouted over the ringing.

His eyes finally adjusted, and Kyle realized he was staring up into Katma's face. There were scuff-marks on her cheeks and her hair had become slightly ruffled.

"Rayner!" Katma repeated. "You alright?"

"Wha-what?" Kyle asked confusedly. He was lying with his back to the ground with Katma kneeling next to him. He focused his gaze upwards and saw hundreds of green and yellow specks moving in random directions, and occasionally, Kyle could see streaks of light shoot through the sky.

"The fight's not over yet." Katma declared. She stood back up and extended a hand. Kyle accepted it, and allowed himself to be pulled back to his feet. "C'mon," she continued, "We need to get back up there."

Kyle nodded, but as their green auras surrounded their bodies again, his eyes fell upon the giant building off in the distance. It resembled a giant green lantern, and coincidentally; the building's design was the very pattern etched on every Green Lantern's ring, but right now, blazing, red fire was spewing from the top of the building.

"Kat…" Kyle said, a little shakily. When she turned to face him, he pointed at the building.

Katma followed Kyle's indication, and when her eyes fell on the fire, her eyes shot wide open in sheer shock. "The Citadel!" She gasped. "The Guardians, C'mon."

* * *

Kilowog ducked as he narrowly avoided the yellow buzz saws that threatened to slice his head clean off. For the last few minutes that seemed more like hours, both he and Arkillo hurled their energy constructs at each other, all the while exchanging several choice swear words. As the fight went on, Kilowog began to suspect that something else was wrong with him; His constructs were now not only ineffective, but weak from the start. All the while, the opposite seemed to be happening to Arkillo's constructs.

Raising his ring again, Kilowog created a large green boulder and then threw it at the other ring-bearer. A second before impact, however, a yellow shield appeared on Arkillo side. The boulder scattered into a million pieces, but left the shield intact.

"Weak…" Arkillo commented with a growl.

Kilowog narrowed his eyes angrily, and at exactly the same time, both he and Arkillo fired an energy beam at each other's hearts. A bang exploded through the air, and the white light erupted as the green and yellow jets collided with each other. Kilowog braced his other hand against his forearm, desperately working to push Arkillo's beam back. His muscles began to tingle and spasm as he kept channeling his willpower into his ring. At the other end, he could see Arkillo was struggling as well.

Then to his horror, Kilowog saw that his beam was being slowly pushed back and he could not stop it no matter how hard he tried. The last thing he saw was Arkillo reel his long and slimy tongue at him, and then he felt some of the worst pain he had ever felt in his life; every bone in his body seemed to be burning, electricity was pulsing through his skin, and his head felt like was going to be ripped open.

When it all stopped, Kilowog's whole body slumped; his uniform had been torn open in several places, and there were streams of blood flowing out of his pink skin. Before he fell however, Arkillo flew forward, and grabbed him by his front.

"Who's the Poozer now, Kilowog?" Arkillo jabbed. He wasn't smiling, but the look in his eyes clearly showed that his was enjoying this. "Why don't you beg for mercy before I end it all?"

At the end of his sentence, Kilowog stirred back into consciousness. He glared at Arkillo with one open eye, and then he spat at him. Blood and saliva landed all over Arkillo's face. Sadly for Kilowog, the feat didn't seem to faze Arkillo. The yellow ring-bearer roared at Kilowog. Who then raised his ring and surrounded his hand with a yellow glove with fours spikes on the knuckles. In a flash, Arkillo slammed his fist on Kilowog's face, right in between his eyes. The Green Lantern spun through the air as he fell, steadily gaining speed until he reached terminal velocity.

When Kilowog finally came to, all he could feel was wind blowing past him. He turned his head and immediately realized, to his horror, that the surface of Oa was becoming deadly close. Without wasting another millisecond, Kilowog bored his eyes into his ring and poured in all the concentration he could muster.

After a few heart-wrenching moments, his ring finally began to regain its glow. Then as Kilowog felt the familiar energy envelope his body, he slammed onto the ground with a planet shaking crash.

* * *

The entrance to the Citadel's central chamber was blasted open as Kyle and Katma stormed inside. Both Lanterns' eyes instantly fell upon the short, blue-skinned bodies that were scattered all over the floor of the chamber.

_"AHHHH!"_

Katma and Kyle both then turned their gaze upwards as the agonizing scream faded into the air. They watched in horror as another blue alien fell down right before them. Luckily, Katma was fast enough to shoot a beam up to catch him.

Slowly, Katma knelt down and gently lowered the Guardian in front of her. Dread and shock was clear on her face as she took in just how frail and wrinkly he looked.

"_You…_" Katma heard Kyle say through gritted teeth. She turned her gaze, and found herself tensing up when she saw the figure leisurely land before them.

"Sinestro," said Katma, her voice was shaking with anger. She steadily rose back to her feet, and glared him. "I should've suspected you had something to do with this."

Sinestro smirked at her comment. "Of course you should've." He remarked arrogantly. "I mean, who else could've qualified?"

Katma ignored his question. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh, let's see," Sinestro turned his eyes upwards, and cupped his chin. "I'm planning to take a stroll down memory lane, and then-"He looked back at them. "- destroy this pitiful planet and this sorry excuse of a-"

"Enough talk!" barked Kyle. "I'm gonna put you down, traitor!" He blasted forward and raised his ring. A large board sword appeared in his hands. He cocked his construct back and brought it down hard towards Sinestro's head.

There was a loud _clang _as Kyle's sword shattered into tiny pieces. The Green Lantern's eyes fell open when he saw the small yellow circle that appeared right on top of Sinestro. The yellow ring-bearer smirked once more before springing into action. Before Kyle could even think, Sinestro hit him with another yellow construct. The impact threw him across the chamber. Where he then slammed face first onto the wall, and lost consciousness upon landing hard on the floor.

Katma, who had been watching that whole endeavor play out, met Sinestro's gaze again. "He was your student, right? Katma?" The yellow ring-bearer questioned. "If _that _was the best he had to offer, then I honestly doubt that_ you _wouldfare any better."

Without words, Katma suddenly moved in a blur of motion, firing shots of energy straight at Sinestro. Naturally, he dodged all of them with relative ease. He took to the air, and took a few shots of his own. Katma barrel-rolled through the air and was able to avoid being hit, until that last beam grazed her arm. Wincing sharply at the pain, she took another shot at Sinestro, but only to have it blocked once again.

As Sinestro's shield disappeared, his yellow aura seemed to intensify. He then flew forward with a speed of a falling star, and slammed right into Katma. The Green Lantern rolled through the air before crashing to the ground; creating a twenty-foot long rut. Every muscle burned with pain as Katma shakily propped herself on her hands and knees. A slight noise made her look up as Sinestro slowly descended upon her.

"Can you feel it, Katma?" He asked vaguely, spreading his arms out wide. "The _fear_, this planet is teeming with it."

"What're you talking about?" Katma demanded, getting back to her feet.

A smirk of satisfaction rose on Sinestro's face. "Look around you. The Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe have fallen. As we speak, the Manhunters are snuffing out what little willpower this pitiful place has left."

"Don't be so full of yourself, Sinestro." said Katma. "How did you get the Manhunters to work for you?"

"Oh, it took very little to persuade them," replied Sinestro. "That's usually the case when you give someone a proposition of revenge."

Right when Sinestro finished, an intense light engulfed the entire chamber. Katma had to squeeze her eyes shut to prevent herself from going blind. When she opened them again, she saw the glowing, metal behemoth standing next to Sinestro; his face was emotionless and his eyes were flickering as though they were set ablaze.

Manhunter Prime stared at her for a moment, and then turned to address Sinestro.

"_Sinestro,_ _the task you required is complete._"

"Excellent," Sinestro remarked, "Soon, Oa will burn and be littered with the bodies of the Green Lantern Corps."

"What do you mean?" Katma asked desperately. "What have you done?"

There was silence as Sinestro and Manhunter Prime stared at her. Then the former let out what could quite possibly be the cruelest of all chuckles. "Oh, my dear Katma. I'm surprised you haven't figured it out." The amusement was clear in his arrogant voice. "Haven't you realized during our fight that you were losing power?"

Upon hearing his claim, Katma instantly looked down at her power ring. She poured her willpower into it, and although it did light up like it was supposed to, the familiar green glow seemed to have dimmed significantly.

"Ah, now you realize." said Sinestro. "You see, while you and all the other Lanterns were distracted, I had this Manhunter-"

Before Sinestro could finish, he turned his head to see a green energy beam flying straight for him. However, Manhunter Prime merely raised his arm, and made a shield to protect both himself and Sinestro. When the shield had vanished, the Manhunter noticed Kyle Rayner fast approaching. He kept his arm raised and fired an energy beam of his own out from his palm.

The beam hit Kyle but didn't push him back. Instead, the yellow energy surrounded and constricted him, rendering him motionless no matter how hard he struggled.

Katma noticed the momentary distraction and leapt to take the shot. She cocked back her right fist, brimming with green energy, and aimmed right for Sinestro's face. A millimeter before she was able to make contact with his flesh however, Katma saw a large, metal hand grasp her forearm. A split second later, she felt the bones in her arm break and pain coursed through her whole body, making her let out a shriek that echoed throughout the entire chamber. Her body went limp and she shook in agony. Although, she was still conscious enough to pick up Sinestro's demented laughter.

"Fighters, _till the end_." He said, looking between Kyle and Katma. Then he slowly turned and began walking away. "Manhunter, dispose of them… _and _the Guardians."

Manhunter Prime remained silent as he threw both Green Lanterns onto ground near the fallen Guardians, before caging them all in a large, floating bubble. With a flick of his wrist, Manhunter Prime sent the bubble flying across the chamber, where it crashed through the wall and into the air outside. The bubble lingered for a few more seconds, but then to Kyle's and Katma's horror, it just disappeared in a blink of an eye, sending them both and the Guardians of the Universe hurdling towards the surface of Oa.

* * *

**Sector 2814, Watchtower**

Three days had passed since the San Baquero mission, and it was business as usual for most members of the Justice League. Sadly, Beacon could not count herself in that group. Ever since she was injured, Martian Manhunter had given her a light-duty status, which barred her from participating in any sort of missions. Naturally, the Halfa was not a fan of the idea, and had tried appealing to J'onn that her injury would not hinder her performance. Unfortunately for her, J'onn had the support of every other founding member, and the Halfa had no choice but to give up on the matter.

Meanwhile, Supergirl was in a very cheerful mood. She had since regained full mission status and had been quite busy over the past three days. What's more, Supergirl had reconciled with her older cousin, Superman. Both of them had been on great terms since the Man of Steel apologized to Supergirl before giving both her and Beacon his 'blessing' of sorts. Beacon had been ecstatic at her girlfriend's improved relationship with Superman, and was therefore growing more and more optimistic that things would keep getting better as the days went on.

What Beacon was not ready for however, was that Supergirl seemed keen to rub her full mission status in her face. When the Halfa told to her about the founders denying her appeal, Supergirl made a witted remark about how she should trust the founders' decision and that it was only temporary. That was not even the end of it, whenever she got a called for a mission in her communicator, Supergirl would make the effort to announce it to Beacon before zooming off to the teleporter pad.

Although Beacon found Supergirl's antics to be rather immature, she could at least understand where she had been coming from. After all, just a few days ago, her girlfriend had been in the same position that she was in. The Halfa could not help but smirk at the irony of their situation whenever she thought about it. She just hoped that Supergirl would not need rescuing from a nuclear explosion.

There was a slight hiss as the pistons pushed the double doors open and Beacon stepped on the monitoring platform with Supergirl at her side. To no surprise at all, both of them found J'onn and Echo at their respective stations on the platform. Since his role was mainly to act as the assistant League coordinator, Echo barely ever left the platform. Although, he was allowed to return home with Beacon whenever he was dismissed; whether the dismissal came from J'onn himself or any other Leaguer with the proper authority.

"_Greetings, Beacon and Supergirl._" Echo addressed without looking at the two girls.

Both Beacon and Supergirl presented their own greetings and continued to approach the miniature robot. When they got close enough, they realized he had been occupying himself up in front of three separate screens. One was showing strings of constantly flowing data, another had a compilation of several news segments, and the last screen, Beacon raised a curious eyebrow upon seeing it, showed a display of a chess game. Judging from how several pieces were missing from the board, the game must have been on for quite some time.

"Are you playing with someone?" asked the Halfa.

"_Affirmative_." He replied, and as he finished speaking, Beacon watched as a white knight move up three squares and the move one square to the right.

"Who're you playing with?" Supergirl chimed in, standing off to Beacon's right.

Echo looked between the pair of them for the first time before speaking again. "_I have been involved in a series of games with Amazo._" He revealed. "_He had asked for my participation since his return to Earth and I was willing to accept_."

Beacon raised her eyebrows, she didn't know the golden android had returned to the Tower of Fate, but she was glad he was alright nevertheless. Echo's brightly lit green eyes suddenly glowed even brighter. Beacon and Supergirl turned their attention back to the 'chess' screen just in time to see a black queen take a white bishop.

"_Checkmate._" Echo said a second later.

"Whoa… Did you just beat him?" said Supergirl.

Beacon blinked at her. "Don't you know how chess works, Kara? That's what 'checkmate' means."

The Blond Kryptonian shot her a warning look. "I-I know that." She stated rather defensively. "I meant Echo just beat that android in a thinking game. Even though he pretty much knows everything."

"_That last statement may be an exaggeration._" said Echo. "_However, my winning percentage still remains at 44 percent._"

"That's really not too bad, Echo." Beacon shrugged, trying to encourage her robotic friend. "I mean, considering who you were playing…" The Halfa paused suddenly, and then turned to face Supergirl. "Say, Kara?"

"Hm?" replied the Blond Kryptonain.

The Halfa smiled. "How 'bout you and I play a round?"

Supergirl blinked for a second, and then seemed to grasp at the idea. "Alright," she agreed, "but I'm telling you now: don't cry too badly when I beat you."

"Hoh-oh," Beacon cackled. "Tell you what, let's make this more interesting."

"I'm listening."

"If I win: you have to cook for me for the rest of the week. And if you win: I'll-um-"

Beacon furrowed her brow as she tried to come up with an idea, but Supergirl beat her to it. "If I win: you have to take me out on another date."

Beacon stared at her, frowning slightly. "Don't I already do that?" She asked.

Supergirl narrowed her eyes at her. "Inviting me over for dinner doesn't cut it anymore, Rach." She quarreled. "I want to go _out_ again; like our first date, but… better."

Beacon felt a smile creep up on her face, and she could see the same expression on the Blond Kryptonian. "Alright, deal." the Halfa held out her hand. "But I'm gonna make you work for it though."

"Fine by me." Supergirl dismissed, clasping Beacon's hand into a firm handshake. "Just don't back out when you lose."

Beacon let out a long drawn out gasp that was in no way realistic. "_Kara, _I would never." She admitted in a mock-offended tone. "Besides, I can't now that we have witnesses."

"_Affirmative_." Echo asserted. "_I am fully prepared to provide the evidence should either of you fail to fulfill your obligations._"

"And I suppose J'onn-" Beacon raised her voice slightly as she spoke to the back of the Martian's head. "-will make sure we keep our promises, right, J'onn?"

There was a moment of silence. Then Beacon heard the faintest grunt come out of J'onn throat. The Halfa and Supergirl shared a laugh before all four of them turned as Green Lantern walked onto the platform. With one glance, Beacon knew the man was upset; his fists were curled into tight balls, and his jaw was clenched shut. The Halfa opened her mouth and was about to ask what was bothering Lantern, but J'onn spoke before she could.

"What's the matter?"

Green Lantern looked right at him as he gave his reply. "I need to get to Oa. _Now._"

The Martian raised an eyebrow. "I am going to need more to go on than that."

Lantern let out a slight scoff before raising his ring. As it glowed, an old man's voice spoke out not from the speakers on the panel, but from the ring itself.

"_This is an emergency message from Oa to all Green Lanterns._" The voice was quick and there was no hiding the alarm in the man's voice. "_We are under attack and in need of immediate assistance. We-_" The rest of the message was drowned out by the sound of a thunderous explosion. There were screams followed by shouts of agonizing pain. Then more voices came; only they sounded different; cold… and unyielding.

"_No man escapes the Manhunters!_"

The light from Green Lantern's ring disappeared as silence surrounded the monitor platform again. Beacon was still trying to piece everything she heard all together. It all seemed pretty straight forward: Oa had been a victim of a planetary invasion, and it seemed that these 'Manhunters' were the ones conducting the invasion. She remembered reading something about them during her time in the League archives, and so she had an idea of their capabilities.

That being said however, the archives said that the robots were destroyed; so how could they be back? Also, Beacon was having a hard time coming to terms with the idea that an army of robots could actually take over Oa. The planet would've undoubtedly been crawling with Green Lanterns, so the whole thing seemed rather fishy.

"What do you propose?" J'onn's question roused Beacon out of her thoughts.

Lantern gave his fellow founding Leaguer a hard look. "Simple," he answered. "I'm gonna head to Oa and smash them all to bits."

"Then I'll come too," said Supergirl immediately after. "If you need any robot smashing, I'm your girl."

Beacon grinned at her girlfriend's confidence. Unfortunately, Green Lantern didn't seem to share her enthusiasm.

"Not going to happen, Kara. You're not ready."

Supergirl's eyes shot wide open at his statement. "W-_What? _" She bellowed. "What do you mean? I've pulled my share during my time in the League, and what about Nevada? I took on an army of robot spiders." after she said 'spiders', Supergirl let out a slight shutter.

Lantern still looked unconvinced. "The Manhunters aren't like those things." He explained. "They're heartless, manipulative, and are capable of independent and complex thinking."

"But I-"

"Kara!" Lantern actually raised his voice. "I don't have time to argue with you. I needed to get to Oa _yesterday._"

"Then perhaps you should discuss your plan." said J'onn in a calm, steady tone.

"First off," said Lantern. "I'm gonna need a team with a lot of firepower and that can endure the long haul."

Lantern's statements caused Supergirl to point at her own face, and then throw her hands up in exasperation, but he either did not see her or just ignore her completely.

"The League's stretched rather thin at the moment," J'onn told Lantern, "but I'll see who I can find."

"Try to hurry, will you?" Lantern pleaded impatiently. "I'll go by myself if I have to."

"_If I may,_" everyone turned towards Echo's voice, but the miniature robot only had his eyes on Green Lantern. "_I have a possible solution to this matter._"

Green Lantern raised an eyebrow."Go on…" He said slowly as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.

"_I have two selections that could potentially raise mission success while also taking up less_ _space._" Echo explained._ "The first one is myself: I possess the adequate combat capabilities._"

Green Lantern blinked before scratching his chin in thought. Eventually, he complied. "Alright, you're in… Now what's the second selection you have?"

His sentence was barely finished when a bright, golden light engulfed the entire platform. Everyone except Echo threw their arms up to shield their eyes. When the light vanished a second later, they all lowered their arms and found themselves staring at the golden form of the android: Amazo.

"Oh, _heck no! _" Green Lantern barked. "Uh-uh, out of the question!"

Amazo stared down at him for a few seconds, and then telepathically gave his reply.

_It seems you are not pleased to see me._

"You bet I'm not." Lantern retorted. He stepped closer towards the android and glared right at his face. "After what you did to Oa, there's no way I'm letting you anywhere _near _that place."

_You are referring to when I harmlessly moved the planet to another dimension, and then moved it back upon your request._

The message was a statement, and even though Lantern's exterior was solid, Beacon could see him twitch ever so slightly. Apparently, he couldn't find a way to deny the truth in Amazo's words. He quickly turned his gaze to Echo, possibly hoping to deflect some of the pressure away from him.

"Why did you bring him here?" he demanded.

"_I contacted Amazo upon your request of, and I quote, 'a lot of firepower'_." Echo told him.

_And I am more than willing to assist in any way I can._

Green Lantern clenched his jaw so tightly that Beacon was afraid that he might tear a few muscles. As she watched him glare back and forth between the two robots, the Halfa was reminded of another Founding Leaguer that had initially refused help from a sentient machine.

Beacon let out a slow sigh, and took a step forward. "John, you've made it clear that you want to get to Oa as soon as possible." She raised her arm and gestured at Amazo's direction. "So do you think that arguing with genuine help is going to get you there? Actually, come to think of it, Amazo here could probably just make all those Manhunters disappear in the blink of an eye."

Amazo turned his head to stare down at her.

_I do not have eyelids. Therefore I cannot blink._

"N-no," Beacon stuttered at his comment, "it's a-"

"_It's a metaphoric phrase to symbolize an instantaneous action._" Echo finished for her.

Amazo turned his head to face the miniature robot.

_I see. I may have to look more into these phrases in the near future._

"_Anyway…_" Green Lantern's slow words brought everyone's attention back to him. He looked utterly conflicted. He let out a long sigh before continuing. "Looks like I don't have much of a choice." He paused before directing his words at Amazo. "But if you try anything funny, I will blow you to bits. Do I make myself clear?"

In response, Amazo nodded.

_Yes_.

"Then, see what you can do about the Manhunters on Oa."

Amazo kept his gaze on Lantern as his red eyes began to glow. When they finally dimmed, everyone waited in anticipation, wondering if it had worked.

_I was unsuccessful at removing the Manhunters; something is counteracting my power. _The mood around the platform sank.

"I should've known." Lantern sighed. "There's no way it's that easy."

"_Perhaps a closer investigation is required._" Echo suggested.

Green Lantern looked at the miniature robot and nodded. He then turned back to Amazo before speaking, "Take us to Oa."

Without delay, Amazo's eyes glowed again. Another bright light surrounded the entire platform, and when it finally faded, Green Lantern, Echo and Amazo were gone. The only thing that remained was a thin wisp of smoke.

After one last glance, J'onn turned back to his station and resumed his work. There was a moment of silence before Beacon turned to Supergirl.

"Soooo," she started slowly. "You wanna play a game now?"

Supergirl blinked for a second, and then her face lit up. "You're on," she declared, "and you are _so _going down."

"We'll see." Beacon jabbed back, smirking.

With that, the two girls exited the platform.

* * *

When the blinding whiteness finally faded, Green Lantern opened his eyes and quickly turned his head in several directions. His gaze fell upon the numerous piles of rubble that had fire billowing from their peaks. For a moment his mind debated on the possibly that he had arrived at the wrong place, because what he saw looked nothing like the Oa he knew so well.

_We are in the correct location._

"What?" asked Lantern as he whirled around to face Amazo.

_I did not make a mistake._ Amazo told him. _We are on Oa._

Green Lantern's shoulders fell and he turned to examine the ruins again. How did the Manhunters manage to do all this?

"_ALERT._" Both Amazo and Green Lantern turned to see Echo with his eyes glowing bright and his head was raised slightly towards the sky. "_Hostile presence detected. Two kilometers and closing._"

After hearing the miniature robot's warning, Green Lantern and Amazo followed his gaze. Sure enough, they saw a group of bright yellow dots flying rabidly towards them.

_It seems they have been alerted to our presence. _

"Tell me something I don't know." Lantern retorted quickly. He then clenched his right fist, causing his ring to glow. "Get ready!"

"_Battle mode, Initiated._" said Echo as the two halves of his face shield slid over his mouth.

When the Manhunters were within range, Green Lantern narrowed his eyes and pointed his ring in their direction. The thick glowing beam that shot out of Lantern's ring hit a Manhunter right in the face, but to his utter surprise, the beam bounced off the flickering yellow shell that surrounded its body. Green Lantern blinked once before trying again, only to get the same result.

"What the-?" He exclaimed as he stared at his ring.

_Curious, it seems these 'Manhunters' are stronger than you originally anticipated._

Green Lantern turned, and glared up at Amazo.

"_Whatever energy is sustaining them must be immensely powerful. _" Echo stated.

"Yeah? Well, we still need to destroy them." Lanterns declared as he faced the front again. By now, the Manhunters were beginning to stalk towards the trio with their batons raised.

Green Lantern gritted his teeth; he had just about enough of those infuriating robots. "Alright you two," he said, turning back to Echo and Amazo,"I want you to flank them on both sides, find any weak points and strike."

"Acknowledged," replied the miniature robot, while Amazo nodded.

_Very well. _

With that, Echo and Amazo lifted themselves high into the air and headed straight for the swarm of Manhunters. When they reached the front of the swarm, they both split apart, with Echo taking the right flank while Amazo took the left. The two swerved from side to side in midair as they avoided the Manhunters' baton blasts. Echo's eyes were glowing bright as he scanned for any opening for him to attack.

"_Analysis complete._" Echo said. "_Transferring data now._"

A second later, Amazo replied. _Received, Recommend coordinated strike on my mark… Mark. _

Maintaining their trajectories, the two automatons stretched out their arms and opened fire on the Manhunters. The two solid yellow beams slammed against the Manhunters and started to slice through them like a hot knife through butter. Bits and pieces of the Manhunters' arms, legs, chest and heads flew in every direction.

Seeing the Manhunters dealing with such a crippling blow, Green Lantern raised his ring and unleashed a fury of will-powered bullets. While most of his attacks hit the Manhunters' bodies, there were a few that struck the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that eventually blocked everything out.

There was silence as the dust cloud swirled through the air. Green Lantern slowly inched, keeping his ring arm raised in case he needed to react fast. Then, faster than he could even blink, a beam flew out of the dust cloud and struck him right in the chest. Lantern let out a roar of pain as he fell backwards, landing hard on the ground with a thud. When he managed to prop himself up on his elbows, he saw to his horror that the Manhunters were emerging from the dust cloud, and despite having no legs, some of the machines continued aiming their batons at Lantern while they dragged their bodies along the ground.

Green Lantern tried to scurry back to his feet, but the loose dirt on the ground made the feat difficult. Eventually, Echo flew down beside him, hugged his arm with both of his own, and assisted him back to his feet. However, there was no room for any sort of reprieve as the Manhunters fired their batons again. Luckily, Amazo landed before Echo and Lantern and created a bright, golden dome that absorbed every single beam.

With the trio offered a moment of safety, Echo turned to Lantern's chest, smoke still smoldering in the hole in his uniform. Echo's eyes began to glow. "_You have suffered first degree burns but there is no sign of internal hemorrhaging._" He announced as he eyes dimmed back to their normal intensity.

"I'll treat my injuries _after _we finish those Manhunters." Lantern retorted quickly.

Echo gave a slight nod. "_Acknowledged._" He said, and then his eyes glowed once more. "_I have detected additional presences approaching our position._"

Green Lantern grimaced. "More Manhunters? Where?"

"_Negative,_ _the signatures do not match those of the Manhunters'_."

Before Lantern could ask, there was a scuffle and the telltale sound of feet pounding on the ground. He turned around just in time to see a group of his fellow Green Lanterns charging in his direction, and leading at the front was none other than his old colleague: Kyle Rayner. Lantern then noticed that Kyle and the other Lanterns had something in their hands, the objects appeared to be some sort of mechanical device; it was small and cylindrical shaped. On occasion, Lantern could also several lights blink on and off.

Kyle and the rest of the Lanterns all stopped on Green Lantern, Echo, and Amazo's either sides and heaved the assortment of devices over Amazo's shield, right into the middle of the remaining Manhunters. They bounced off the ground like inflated balls and then, one by one, they all exploded into a shower of sparks and flames.

When everything finally died down, Amazo lowered his shield and Green Lantern took a step forward to see if the explosion managed to wipe out the Manhunters. However, all he could see on the other side was smoke and dust.

"Any of you pick up anything?" He asked both Echo and Amazo.

Both robots' eyes glowed at the exact same time, but Amazo answered first.

_No, my scans did not detect any signals._

"_Neither did mine._" Echo added. "_It appears the explosive devices have successfully eliminated the remaining Manhunters._"

When Echo finished speaking, Green Lantern heard the sound of soft cheers behind him. He turned to see his fellow Lanterns sharing an embrace, clasping each other's hands and clapping one another on the back. He stood rooted to the spot as Kyle approached him. Now that the fight was over, Lantern had a moment to take a closer look at him. Kyle looked as though he has had it rough; his uniform was torn in places, his once kempt hair was now disheveled, and there was scrapes and bruises all over his body. Even with all that however, Lantern's younger colleague still put on a confident smile.

"Hey, John." He greeted, stretching out his hand. "Glad you could join the party."

Green Lantern couldn't help but put a smile of his own as he firmly clasped Kyle's hand and shook it. "Wouldn't've missed it." He replied. "Thanks for the save back there." Then he frowned when he didn't notice any other familiar faces. "Where's Kat? And Kilowog?"

Kyle's face fell into a deep frown as he let go of Green Lantern's hand. "She got banged up pretty bad; she's resting back at the hideout we've set up back in the tunnels under the training grounds." He told him. "I haven't seen Kilowog still we got separated."

Green Lantern felt his heart sink, but he nodded nevertheless. Then he watched as Kyle turned his gaze over his shoulder and glaring daggers up at Amazo. "What's that _thing_ doing here?"

Kyle's question was like a rallying cry; every other Lantern fell silent and twisted their face into different levels of hostilely. However, even with his galactic brethren standing side-by-side opposite him, Green Lantern stood his ground and gave them all a stern look.

"He's with me," He declared, "and nothing else."

Silence filled the air as Kyle and the other Lanterns pondered this possibility. Nevertheless, they all nodded. Green Lantern let out a quiet sigh, he never would've believed that his fellow Lanterns would be so quick to accept the golden Amazo; considering what he did to all of them.

"So what's been going on here?" Lantern continued. "Why did the Guardians send out a distress call?"

Kyle's face turned into a snarl at Lantern's questions. "Sinestro…" He hissed. "He got the Manhunters to work for him and then he launched an all-out invasion."

Green Lantern widened his eyes and his hand shook with fury. It all made sense now. How else could the Manhunters obtain a power that could protect them from his attacks? Although, during the fight, Lantern did take notice of the fact that his constructs were significantly weaker than usual. He doubted it was due to a lack of willpower, he deeply wanted to destroy every single one of the Manhunters. So why was his ring losing power? What's more, when Kyle and the others showed up, they did not use their rings either, instead they used improvised explosives. That was Lantern realized there must be something else interfering with their power.

"So, are all of your rings acting up too?" He questioned Kyle.

"It's not 'acting' anymore." Kyle answered grimly. "My ring ran out of power not too long ago; same with these guys behind me." He pointed his thumb to the Lanterns standing behind him and they all nodded or murmured in confirmation.

Green Lantern looked intently down at his own power ring. "My ring doesn't have a lot of juice left either." He realized. "We need to end it all _now_. You have any idea where would Sinestro be holed up in?"

"The Citadel," Kyle replied at once, "probably decorating it to suit his own demented tastes."

"Then me, Echo, and the android will head there before he ruins anymore of the place." Lantern declared.

"What should we do?"

Green Lantern scanned each of his fellow galactic enforcers; all of them had the same hard look in their eyes. He could tell they wanted to fight, but now might not be the best time.

"Spread out and try to find more Lanterns if you can," he suggested, "bring 'em back to that holdout if they need treatment."

He and Kyle exchanged nods, but the former aimed to take flight again, the latter called out him, "Wait! You need to know: Sinestro has another Manhunter with him, one that's even more powerful than the others."

Green Lantern tucked his fingers on his chin as he pondered this new information. Then he looked right into Kyle's eyes; or rather, the whites in his mask. "Don't you worry about me; I have back up." He pointed at the two robots behind him. Kyle and the other Lanterns stared between Echo and Amazo before nodding very slowly. They appeared to trust Lantern's judgment more than just the sight of two robots alone.

As a group, Lantern, Echo, and Amazo all lifted themselves high into the air, and took off towards Oa's Citadel. Along the way, Amazo turned to look at Green Lantern.

_Why did you defend me against your fellow Green Lanterns?_

Green Lantern stared back into his red eyes. "I want to those Manhunters out of Oa," he explained, "and that's not going to happen if we all start fighting each other."

_I see._

"Good; now c'mon, there's a traitor that needs a good butt-kicking."

* * *

The walls of the Citadel broke apart like pieces of Styrofoam and Green Lantern, Echo and Amazo floated into the enormous chamber. Green Lantern felt his face contort into a snarl when he caught sight of the figure standing in the center of the room with his back to him.

"Sinestro," He called out as he, Echo, and Amazo landed on the floor, "the jig is up, and you're going down."

He saw Sinestro's shoulders move, and heard the slow, humorless laugh that very few creatures could pull off. Lantern's fists curled into balls as Sinestro turned to face him with a devious smirk etched on his arrogant red face.

"Funny, I was told the same thing not too long ago." He quipped. "And yet, I'm still here."

"Not for long!" informed Green Lantern. He raised his ring and pointed directly towards Sinestro's heart. "Give it up, you're out numbered." Taking his last words as cue, Echo and Amazo also raised their hands.

Sinestro let out another cruel laugh. "Here's the thing, Johnny boy; I have a robotic companion of my own." There was a thundering crash from the ceiling above, quickly followed by another that shook the entire chamber. As the dust cleared, the hulking form of Manhunter Prime stood before them.

The appearance of the Manhunter did nothing to faze Green Lantern; who kept his gaze honed in on Sinestro. "You two take down the Manhunter." He growled to Echo and Amazo. "Sinestro is _mine_." The two robots exchanged the briefest of glances, and then Echo entered into his battle mode once more.

Silence hung in the air inside the entire chamber as the two groups stared each other down. Then, with everyone moving in complete unison, the fighting kicked off.

Green Lantern shot a construct the size of a small car straight at Sinestro, the yellow ring-bearer arched up an eyebrow and merely sidestepped to avoid Green Lantern's attack. Maintaining his smug grin, Sinestro simply placed his left hand behind his back and gingerly beckoned with his right.

Lantern narrowed his eyes; he knew Sinestro was baiting him, but instead of charging forward like a blind fool, he raised his ring again and fired a solid energy beam at Sinestro. His attack was negated again when Sinestro encased himself in a transparent sphere.

"For your sake," Sinestro began as his shield flickered into nothing, "I hope that wasn't the best you can do."

Gritting his teeth in deep concentration, Green Lantern poured even more will power into his ring. Swirls of green beams flew out and coiled in air like string on a spool. After a few seconds, he was floating inside a construct that very closely resembled a suit of armor; only this armor was about ten times his size. Green Lantern glared down at Sinestro and raised both of his fists over his head. With a mighty yell, he swung downward; his construct followed his exact movements and swung its massive fists down on his rival. Sadly, he missed as Sinestro quickly hopped backwards. Then, the yellow ring-bearer made a sinister looking battle-axe appear in his hands. Lantern watched Sinestro leap forward with his weapon raised, poised to bury it through his armor and into his brain. Green Lantern decided to put all of his reflexive training to use, and braced both of his arms over his head.

On the other side of the chamber, Echo rolled to his right as a thick energy beam soared past him. The miniature robot raised his fist and fired a single missile out of a slot in his forearm. It flew straight at Manhunter Prime, but the yellow machine was able to conjure up a shield around himself a split second before impact. The missile exploded into fire and smoke, but the Manhunter managed to come up unscathed.

Before the Manhunter could enact a counterattack, Amazo stepped forward and shot a golden beam from his palm. The beam slammed directly into the center of the Manhunter's shield with a force so great that the Manhunter was blown backwards on his feet. When the machine finally stopped, Amazo encased him with more golden energy and lifted him into the air. The android then proceeded to smashing the Manhunter on the floor, the walls, the ceiling, and back to the floor again; Amazo literally sent the Manhunter crashing into every surface of the chamber.

_Perhaps it's time this came to an end._

As Amazo gently placed Manhunter Prime into a space directly in front of him, the latter's eyes seemed to bore into his. "_I could not agree with you more._" He said darkly.

Suddenly, Manhunter Prime's entire body began to glow, turning the golden energy into a flash of pure white light. Then, all the different energies burst out in every direction, slamming into Echo and Amazo with full force. The two robots were blasted backwards, and due to his smaller size, Echo was blown back further than Amazo was and was sent tumbling uncontrollably through the air. The miniature robot was mere centimeters away from crushing into the wall, where he would likely be smashed into a million pieces. Luckily for him, Amazo just managed to pull him to a dead stop with his telekinesis.

Echo's counterpart slowly carried him back to his side and released him. Then the two of them turned to stare at Manhunter Prime, whose body was nicked in places and had smoke seeping out from every crack and seam.

_That should not have been possible; my countermeasures should have prevented anything from counteracting my powers._

"_The improbability has been rendered moot._" Echo commented. "_However, he must have a weakness. It is prudent that we find and exploit it._"

_Agreed. _

As they turned to face the Manhunter again, Echo's eyes began to glow as he scanned up and down his body. The Manhunter must have figured out what Echo was trying to do because he aimed his palm right at the miniature robot. Fortunately, Amazo was faster than he was and knocked his hand down with a blast of his own.

"_Scan complete._" Echo informed, his eyes dimmed as he turned back to Amazo. "_I have the information necessary. Are you willing to hold his attention? _"

Amazo nodded. _I will provide you with as much time as I can._

"_Acknowledged,_" Echo replied, "_stand by._" The miniature robot blasted himself forward, straight towards Manhunter Prime's direction. The Manhunter tried to swing at Echo as he flew past but the latter easily swerved to avoid him.

"_Don't think you'll escape so easily,_" the Manhunter roared after Echo. "_I will destroy-"_

At the exact moment, Amazo moved across the chamber at a blazing speed, ramming the Manhunter head on and causing him to skip across the floor before finally slamming into the wall.

_Your do not need to be concerned with him; I am your opponent._

Manhunter Prime glared at the approaching Amazo, the former's flickering, gold eyes meeting the latter's solid red ones. "_So be it_."

In a blur, the Manhunter sped forward; aiming his fist straight for Amazo's head, but the android was a split second too quick, he caught the Manhunter's hand and pinned it against his body. Then Amazo sent a flurry of punches to the Manhunter's midsection, adding more and more dents to his already riddled body. Amazo then drove a massive uppercut into the Manhunter's chin, sending him upwards towards the ceiling.

* * *

There was a blinding flash followed by a deafening _clang _as Green Lantern's and Sinestro's constructs made contact with each other. The blade of Sinestro's axe had severed the arms of Green Lantern's armor and dug several inches into its head, but luckily, the man underneath the armor managed to avoid any major injures. With no time wasted, Lantern grabbed Sinestro with his construct's remaining arm and smashed the yellow ring-bearer into the floor. Immediately afterwards, he raised his right leg and brought it down hard on Sinestro's body.

The attack was not successful, however, as Sinestro was able to narrowly escape before impact. After lifting himself back into the air, the yellow ring-bearer blasted forward with his fists leading his way.

_Wham!_

Sinestro crashed right through the green armor, and knocked Green Lantern right out of his construct. When they both fell to the floor, Sinestro pressed his knees against Lantern's arms and began wailing on him with his fists. Each punch sent a stunning jolt through Green Lantern's brain. He had to squeeze his eyes shut just so he could began to muster up the will to retaliate against Sinestro, but before he could think of a construct to knock him away, he could hear Sinestro yell out in pain and then felt his weight leave his body. He opened his eyes and realized that Sinestro was gone, but where did he go?

Propping himself up on his elbows, Lantern noticed his opponent kneeling on the floor a few yards away. He appeared to be panting heavily and clutching his smoking chest. A small sound made Lantern turn his head, and floating about a foot above him was Echo. The miniature robot's palm was raised and his eyes were focused solely on Sinestro.

While ultimately relieved that help had come when he desperately needed it, Lantern could feel a surge of irritability build up inside him. As his memory had it, his instructions for Echo were to deal with the Manhunter so he could handle Sinestro by himself.

"What're you doing?" he demanded, getting back to his feet. "I told to you to take the Manhunter."

Echo turned to look at him. "_Your directives were clear._" He said. "_However, I have discovered critical information that you should be aware of._"

"What?" Lantern asked impatiently.

"_I have discovered the source of the Manhunter's power._" Echo informed. "_It is functional because of Sinestro's power ring._"

The realization was like a light instantly filling a dark room, and Lantern could not help but widen his eyes. It was so obvious.

"So, we take out Sinestro, we take out the Manhunters too?" He knew his theory was right, but it felt better to ask for confirmation, and sure enough, he got one.

"_Affirmative_." Echo answered.

Green Lantern nodded, and turned his full attention back to the front, where Sinestro seemed to have recovered from Echo's surprise attack and was back to his feet.

"So, it's two against one now, huh?" The yellow ring-bearer quipped. "No matter, I could still take you."

"Yeah, sure you can." Lantern jabbed with sarcasm.

Before Sinestro could come with another remark, Echo shot another energy blast at him. Sinestro barely had time to react but he was still able to deflect the beam with a shield. Gritting his teeth at the miniature robot, Sinestro unleashed his own energy beams, one right after the other. Echo easily maneuvered his body in the air and avoided all of his attacks, which seemed added more and more heat to Sinestro's already boiling rage.

"Hold still, you stupid little metal bug!" He growled loudly.

Just then, Green Lantern took advantage of Sinestro's distracted state and attacked him with a green energy beam. The yellow ring-bearer cried out in pain as he flew through the air, bounced off the opposite wall, and landed spread-eagled on the floor.

"_Lantern, the opportunity has arrived._" Echo announced. "_It would be wise to take it at this time._"

Green Lantern nodded, pointed his ring at Sinestro's, and pulled it off his finger. Instantly, the yellow glow surrounding his body disappeared, rendering him utterly powerless.

* * *

Amazo easily deflected the thick energy beam away with a simple wave of his arm. Throughout their entire fight, both he and Manhunter Prime had exchanged blows that had brought significant damage to the chamber. Scores of holes, craters and debris littered the entire floor as the two sentient machines stared into each other's eyes.

Manhunter Prime raised his arm again to fire another attack, when suddenly, his entire body seized up and he was rendered motionless. However, his eyeballs seemed to be unaffected as they whizzed around in their sockets. Then a small sound caused the Manhunter to look at his extended arm, a crack was beginning to run down the center of his forearm, it continued to spread throughout the entire limb, before finally crumbling into tiny bits and pieces of metal.

"_What? _" The Manhunter cried. "_NO! Not again! _" Right as he finished his words, his remaining arm had begun to crack, barely a second later; it became just like his first arm.

_It seems your link to your power source has been severed. _Amazo informed him.

Now both of Manhunter Prime's legs have crumbled into dust, leaving his head and torso to topple to the floor. The machine's eyes continued to flicker in every direction as he desperately tried to figure a well out of his predicament, but it seemed that he was having no such luck. Before long, the yellow glow that surrounded the Manhunter's body was starting to fade into a flat dark gray.

_Your deactivation is imminent. It is over. _

The two machines locked eyes again, and when the Manhunter spoke opened his mouth to speak, his voice was eerily soft. "_No, things are not over just yet._" Something flat and small burst out of the Manhunter's chest, before Amazo could react, the Manhunter's computer chip latched itself onto his forehead.  
The entire room was suddenly filled with bright, flashing lights and the cries of agony.

* * *

"What in the world?" Green Lantern whipped around at the sound. His eyes flew open when his saw the surges of electricity flowing from Amazo's forehead. The thing was that was attached to him, whatever it was, seemed to be causing the android tremendous amounts of pain; if that were even possible.

A second later, the electricity stopped surging and the cries were silenced. Amazo's body was now hunched over, with a thick screen of gray smoke bellowing from his back.

"Uh, okay?" Lantern turned his gaze Echo, hoping to get some an answer out of him. However, the miniature robot didn't answer, instead his eyes were glowing brightly as he scanned Amazo's body.

Without warning, Amazo stood up, ramrod straight, and fired a gold energy beam at the Green Lantern and Echo. The former of the two acted on pure instinct and dove to the ground right before the beam soared over his head. There was loud crash as the beam struck the something behind him, he turned and realized there was now a gaping hole in the wall.

"What do you think you're doing?" He demanded loudly.

Amazo didn't respond as he slowly stalked towards him. Feeling as though his life depended on it, Lantern fired a shot at the android, only to have it deflected. He scrambled back to his feet and tried again; this time with a more powerful beam. It seemed to be doing the trick as Amazo was pushed back slightly, but before long, the android regained his footing, and resumed his trek forward.

From out of his peripheral, Lantern saw that Echo had returned. "I could really use some answers here." He told the robot.

"_My scans indicate that Amazo's central processing unit has been externally reprogrammed._"

"What!?" Lantern bellowed. "By who?"

Before he could get an answer, every nerve in his entire body erupted into a burning fury. He felt himself flying backward like a ragdoll; he slammed into the wall and bounced back to the floor. He suppressed a groan as he slowly propped himself up to his hands and knees. He turned his gaze forward, but throbbing in his head made it difficult to focus.

Despite all that, however, the voice that crawled its way into Lantern's ears was downright unnerving. "_The android is now under my control._" The voice was mix of the two other voices; one was clearly Amazo's, while the other was… Lantern's jaw dropped when he recognized it, the second voice was… Manhunter Prime.

"_Now __**I**_ _am the most powerful being in the universe!_" The machine exclaimed. "_Now the entire universe will tremble beneath my feet._"

"_Negative,_" said Echo, "_We will not allow that to transpire._"

Manhunter Prime commanded Amazo's body to turn so he could stare at the miniature robot. "_Oh, and you are going to be the one to stop me?"_ Even though the Manhunter wasn't laughing or smiling, there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

"_Since the situation demands it,_" Echo replied, "_I shall do so to the best of my ability._" With that said, he stretched his arms and shot a pair of energy beams out of his palms. The beams soared through the chamber, heading straight for the chip on Amazo's forehead. Unfortunately, a golden shield appeared out of nowhere and absorbed the beam completely, leaving the android and the computer chip completely unharmed.

"_Your attack was enormously insignificant._" The Manhunter remarked. "_I have more power than you could even fathom. I can-_"Before he could finish, Echo zoomed forward at blazing speeds and aimed a punch at the chip. Despite his small size, the impact of his punch was enough to knock Amazo's head back. Echo was ready to strike again when Amazo's head began to move back to its original spot. Before he could make the move however, the miniature robot saw a hand appear in front of his eyes. There was a flash of golden light, and then he was blasted across the chamber.

"ECHO!" Green Lantern cried out when he saw his companion fly past his field of vision, slam through the wall, and disappear from sight. For several, heart-pounding seconds, Lantern stared at the hole in the wall and waited for Echo to fly back through, but the miniature robot did not reappear.

Green Lantern jerked his head back to the front and glared angrily at the corrupted Amazo. "I know this isn't your fault," Lantern said under his breath, pointing his ring right at the android, "but I gotta put you down."

A green sphere appeared in the air in front of Lantern's Power Ring. As he braced his right arm with his left, the sphere's brightness began to intensify. Green Lantern felt his muscles tremble as he poured all of his willpower into his construct. _Almost there…_ He thought hardheartedly. _Gotta keep going…_The sphere began growing brighter and brighter, until it became pure, white light.

Green Lantern was just about to unleash his attack on Amazo when without warning, bright sparks blow out from his ring. There was an explosion of light that caused Lantern to instantly slam his eyes shut. His legs felt wobbly and he collapsed back to the ground. When everything seemed to have dimmed, he blinked several times to regain his vision, but when he did, he saw watch the light on his ring flicker, and die out.

"You gotta be kidding!" At first glance, he could not believe it, but as he stared at his lifeless ring, he realized he was now powerless; he had lost his means to combat those infernal machines that had invaded his second home. What was he to do now? There was no way he could continue to fight the android. He didn't want to admit it, but right now it would be best for him to get out of here so he could regroup with the other Lanterns, but how was he going to escape.

"_If you wish to regroup with your fellow Green Lanterns,_" Manhunter and Amazo's voices appeared out of nowhere, "_I can assist you in that matter._"

Before he could retort, Lantern's arms were forcefully pinned to his sides and he was lifted into the air against his will. His eyes were locked with Amazo's for one more second, and then he was flying through space, he watched the ceiling of the chamber turn into wide open sky, before feeling the force of gravity yank him back towards the ground.

Lantern opened his mouth to scream, but the rush of air drowned everything out. He had no way to get himself out of his current situation, he was nothing more than a ragdoll that was going to be flat as a pancake when he hit the surface of that unforgiving ground. When he estimated himself to be about ten yards from the ground, Lantern closed his eyes and waited, waited for the sudden impact, waited for everything to be over…

However, the moment never came. Instead, Lantern felt a sudden tug on his back, sending him not downwards but sideways in the air. He opened his eyes, turned his head in several directions before finally locking onto Echo, clutching onto the back of his uniform with both of his small hands. The miniature robot had obviously sustained significant damage; his once polished, metallic body was now scratched and battle-worn. Not to mention, Lantern widened his eyes in shock when he saw this, the bottom of his left leg was spewing bright-yellow sparks and puffing out clouds of black smoke.

"One of your thrusters is out!" yelled Lantern.

Echo kept his gaze forward as he gave his reply. "_I am aware of my damaged condition; Therefore, I could only decrease your velocity to render you fall survivable._"

"What-"before Lantern could finish, the ground beneath him flashed into his vision. He felt the soles of his feet skid upon contact with the loose dirt, which caused him to roll several yards before finally stopping. Lantern groaned as he rose back to his feet; every muscle fiber in his body ached as he worked to steady himself. When he stopped swaying, he turned to see Echo floating right next to him. The robot's thrusters gave out last puff and he fell to the ground, although, Echo seemed to be expecting that because he landed cleanly on his feet.

"_Power level: low._" Echo announced. "_Solar Charging Unit: Damaged. Diverting reserve power to core systems._"

"You're running outta batteries?" Lantern questioned, clutching his abdomen in an attempt to mitigate the pain, "Well _that's _just great."

There was a moment of silence as Lantern scanned their surroundings. "We gonna have to regroup with the other Lanterns," he said, fixing his eyes towards the horizon. "Let's move."

"_Before we leave, may I make a request?"_

Green Lantern turned his gaze down upon the miniature robot. "What?" he asked rather impatiently.

Echo simply looked at him with his stoic expression. "_May you carry me to the destination? My small stature would not contribute to a speedy arrival._"

Lantern arched up an eyebrow for a moment. Then he knelt down, picked up the miniature robot, and lifted him to his shoulder. "Hang on." He insisted.

"_Grip established._" said Echo, grabbing hold on fabric of Lantern's uniform.

With his passenger secure, Lantern reset his sights on the horizon and took off towards that direction.

* * *

When Sinestro regained consciousness, he thought he would hear jubilant cries of his defeat, but his ears picked up nothing but silence. He opened his eyes and saw that the chamber was empty of any Green Lanterns or Guardians. Instead, Sinestro's gaze locked onto the golden form several yards away.

Suspicion instantly set in for the yellow-ring bearer, if he and the Manhunters were defeated, then why was the android in the chamber alone, where were John Stewart and the other robot?

A second after the question formed in his mind, the golden android reeled his body around and started making his way towards him. For a moment, Sinestro thought he was in trouble again; he stood absolutely no chance with his battered and bruised body plus his lack of a Power Ring.

In desperation, Sinestro jerked his head in every direction, trying to find anything he could use to defend himself. After another second or so, his heart shot into his throat when he spotted the tiny yellow object on the ground to his left. Sinestro stretched his arm out and almost immediately, his ring lifted itself into the air, flew across the chamber and slipped onto his ring finger.

Sinestro felt the surge of power envelope him and with his new-found arrogance, he aimed his ring directly at the approaching android. However, something appeared to be amiss when he took a closer look at the android's forehead. There was something right above his red eyes, something that he instantly recognized.

Now a wave of relief swept over Sinestro's body, he began chuckling under his breath, which then turned into loud maniacal laughter. He was having a hard time believing how sweet everything felt. He was on the brink of defeat once again at the hands of John Stewart, but the Manhunter had managed to corrupt the android. Now he was certain that nothing would stop him for achieving his goals.

"I must admit, Manhunter," Sinestro began when he and the android were about ten feet apart, "You are more resourceful that you let on."

Manhunter Prime did not reply, which seemed fine for Sinestro as he continued, "With that amount of power at my disposal, there is nothing I couldn't do." He turned his back on Manhunter as his imagination ran rampant. Where was he to start? He could conquer the entire universe in a matter of days, maybe even hours, and there would be no forces strong enough to stop him, even if they were deranged from some false sense of hope… and willpower.

Anger boiled up inside him as he came to this realization. He will get his vengeance first, and then he will focus on the rest of the universe. Turning back to the android, he said, "I want you to wipe every single Green Lantern from existence. That shouldn't be difficult for you now."

Manhunter Prime stared at Sinestro for a terribly long moment before finally making his voice heard. "_I will destroy the Lanterns._" He stated. "_However I will __**not **__for you._"

Sinestro blinked at the android's response. "What?" he questioned slowly. "'Not for me'?! You fool! Don't you realize you exist only to serve me? I, who brought you back from nothing and lent you my power."

"_That is where you are incorrect._" replied the Manhunter. "_I no longer require your power for sustainment and therefore will no longer serve you._"

"You _stupid_ scrap of garbage!" Sinestro swore. Fury exploded out of him like a volcanic eruption. He hopped back several feet and pointed his ring. "You _dare _defy _me?! _"A large beam burst out of Sinestro's ring and soared straight for the android's head.

There was explosion of sound and light as Sinestro's attack hit not the computer chip, but Amazo's hand. The yellow ring-bearer watched with wide-open eyes as his beam faded into the android's hand, leaving the latter completely unharmed. Gritting his teeth hard, Sinestro tried again, but before he could get the shot off, Manhunter Prime raised his hand and telekinetically lifted him into the air.

"_Your annoyance has gone far enough_." said the android. He then began curling his fingers inwards, slowly shrinking the energy surrounding Sinestro. The yellow ring-bearer screamed in agony as the energy squeezed against his body. His skin was turning it into a deeper shade of red and veins and arteries were bulging underneath the surface. However, just before his blood vessels looked fit-to-burst, Manhunter Prime slacked on the pressure and said, "_Wait, simply killing you would be an act of mercy._" He then released his grasp on Sinestro and he plopped to the ground, still writhing as he clutched his rib-cage.

"_You __**will **__suffer, Sinestro,_" the android continued, "_and you will be rendered… __**powerless**_. _However, you do not need to worry; for you will not be alone._"

The statement got Sinestro to look up. He watched the android's eyes glow for a moment, and then saw another yellow ring appear, out of thin air, on his palm. Sinestro's eyes grew wide as he realized what was going to happen next. He felt his arm rise up without his consent, he tried with all of his power pull his arm back down, and to keep his hand curled into a fist, but the pull on his ring was too strong.

"No!" Sinestro cried as his ring slipped out of his finger and gently floated onto the android's waiting palm. He closed his hand around the rings before staring straight into Sinestro's eyes.

"_Wait! _" Sinestro pleaded. "_No! Wai-_"

He could never finish his sentence as the android's eyes glowed white again. There was a flash white light, and then Sinestro was gone.

For the next moments, Manhunter Prime did nothing but stare at the spot that Sinestro had once been. Then, in a swift motion, he turned Amazo's head upward and commanded the Andriod's eyes to glow. The Manhunter's vision began to stretch beyond the Citadel's ceiling, and then beyond Oa's sky before finally landing on the infinite amount of stars in the vast reaches of the universe.

"_First, I will destroy the Green Lanterns._" Manhunter Prime declared. "_And then… this universe… will… be… __**MINE**_…"

* * *

**A/N: ... Aaaannnddd Cliffhanger! **

**I would like to clarify something. I realized that I made Amazo's powers inconsistent. I am gonna be honest; that is service of the plot, if Amazo's powers worked like they were supposed to, this chapter would be over before it even began.**

**Now, as for the villains. I originally wanted the big bad Brainiac to go up against Echo and Amazo, but that never would have work continuity wise. So I came to the Manhunters as the next be thing.**

**So, what would become of our heroes now that Manhunter Prime has taken control of our favor God-like Android? Stay tuned for next time, and please, don't forget to review. Thank you!**


	23. In-between Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I do not have the ownership of JL or DP.**

**A/N: I would like to apologize for the delay of this chapter, but I thank you all of you for continuing to show your support and allowing this story to break 20000 views. Honestly, THANK YOU!**

**One more thing I'd like to point out, this chapter will not only include John Stewart, but many other green lanterns, therefore to help avoid confusion, whenever the story is referring to John, it will be Green Lantern, and all the others will just be green lanterns.**

**Now without further ado, let's begin where we left off.**

* * *

Beacon of Justice

In-Between Chapter 8

The journey to the green lanterns' hideout was heart wrenching to say the least. Every half-mile or so, a squadron of Manhunters would pass by Green Lantern and Echo's vicinity. As a result, the pair of them had to quickly hide to avoid being spotted.

When they finally reached the training grounds, Lantern began to breathe a little easier, but not by much, considering he was having difficulty controlling his panting.

"_Perhaps you should take a brief rest._" Echo suggested.

Green Lantern, however, refused almost immediately. "Not a chance," he said, "there's no time with those things out there. Besides, we're here."

Echo turned his head to the right, before speaking to Lantern again. "_Are you certain?_ _My scans did not detect any signs of life._"

Lantern raised eyebrow before bracing his hands on a boulder. "That's because-" he paused briefly and, with some effort, pushed the boulder aside, revealing the manhole cover underneath. "They're hiding underground" He slowly knelt down and pulled the cover off, revealing the long tube with a metal ladder that seemed to stretch all the way to the bottom.

After making sure the coast was still clear, Lantern, with Echo still on his shoulder, started making his way down the ladder, but before he descended too far, he made sure to place the cover back over the manhole.

Darkness filled up most of the tube, but fortunately for Lantern, the climb was made easier by the green lights emitting from Echo's eyes which illuminated the spot the directly in front of him. After climbing himself down to solid ground, Green Lantern turned completely around to find himself face to face with another long dark tunnel, only this time it was a horizontal one.

Again, with Echo's eyes acting as dim flashlights, Lantern made his way into the tunnel. As he walked he could not escape the claustrophobic atmosphere the tunnel was radiating, his only saving grace was the knowledge that each step meant he was closer to the end. Still, he felt the other Lanterns could at least have a light in the place.

* * *

Fortunately, it wasn't too long until Lantern finally saw the bright light at the end of the tunnel, and with a slight spring in his step he sped through the last length of the tunnel in a slow run, or rather, a fast hobble. When Lantern finally burst out of the tunnel, a sea of green and black uniforms filled his vision. All of the other Green Lanterns seemed to have been divided into groups of at least ten and were in deep conversations were the members of their respective groups, However, one by one, they turned their heads to stare at him. The volume in the room slowly dropped as more and more Lanterns stopped talking. When the room fell completely silent, every Lantern was gazing into the eyes of John Stewart.

"John!" came a loud and cheerful voice to Lantern's left. He turned and raised a small grin at the sight of Kilowog, Kyle, and Katma approaching him, but then he immediately frowned when he saw the thick bandages on Kilowog's head, arms, and torso, and when he shifted his gaze to Katma, he realized her arm was in a makeshift sling.

"Looks like you all got pretty roughed up," Lantern commented, "and looks like you got the worst of it, Kilowog."

The large Lantern let out a scoff. "No thanks to Arkillo."

"Arkillo, huh?" said Green Lantern. "So, he's still holding a grudge."

"He and I are from the same sector." Kilowog shrugged. "He just wants my head on a stake as a trophy."

Green Lantern nodded before turning to look at Katma. "You holding up okay, Kat?" He asked softly

Katma gave him a hard look. "Everyone here has been injured in some fashion, Stewart." She replied. "But the Guardians got the worst of it."

Lantern's mouth morphed into a hard line. "How are they?"

"Not gonna lie to ya, John, it's not good." said Kilowog, "They've been out since the power from the Central Battery was cut, and they're getting worse by the minute."

Green Lantern felt a spike of anger boil inside him. He hated knowing that victory was right in his grasp, only to be yanked away from him at the last possible second. However, with his failure, the Guardians were on the brink of death and the entire green lantern corps, including himself, was powerless.

"Hang on a second." Kyle blurted out, sounding alarmed. "Where's the android?"

At his question, Green Lantern breathed a heavy sigh before turning back to his fellow Lanterns. "He took him, he's under his control."

"Sinestro?" Kilowog questioned.

"No," Lantern replied with a shake of his head, "the Manhunter, _the _Manhunter."

As he finished, Green Lantern's ears picked up a jumble of voices that seemed to blast out from every direction, the first ones were from Kyle and Kilowog's mouths. However, as the seconds dragged on, more green lanterns, who had been previously eavesdropping, decided to step in and voice their own incoherent opinions. The voices went on for about thirty seconds before Katma stepped in front of them and shouted for everyone to be quiet. The rest of the Lanterns took one glance at her deep scowl and instantly stopped talking.

With everything quiet again, Katma turned back to Lantern. "Stewart, explain." She insisted.

Green Lantern nodded and then proceeded to tell his comrades everything he could recall back at the Citadel. He told them how they were on the brink of victory when he took the ring off Sinestro, but the next thing he knew, Amazo had turned on them and attacked them. When he finished telling the story, Green Lantern glanced over to Echo, "Contact the League." He instructed. "Tell them we need backup ASAP."

Echo's eyes glowed in compliance, and a second later, they dimmed back to normal. "_My attempt has failed; there was a significant amount of interference in addition to my lack of sufficient power._"

Green Lantern let out a deep sigh. "_Of course_..." He muttered patiently.

"Great, we're stuck here with no power in our rings, and no way of calling for help," realized Kyle. "It's happening all over again, only this time Oa really _will _be destroyed."

"_While the situation does appear to be dire, a solution can be brought forward if you all calmly contribute to-_"

"Yeah, well that's easier said than done." Kyle jabbed at the miniature robot. "The bad guys now have the most powerful thing in the universe that could wipe our planet from the existence with a single thought, and you expect us to just _'remain calm_'? News flash: _We. Are. Not. Robots!_"

"_Correction, I did not use the word 'expect'._" said Echo.

"Oh _whatever!_" exclaimed Kyle.

"Kyle! Back off will ya?" Green Lantern snapped. "What you're doing isn't fair to him."

However, Kyle did not back off, instead he rounded on Lantern. "I'm just saying John; does he even understand the type of situation we're in? Does he even understand what it's like to lose something important?"

"Well, why don't you just ask _him_?" Lantern snapped back.

Countless pairs of eyes fell back to the miniature robot sitting on Lantern's shoulder. Echo took a moment to scan over their faces before speaking once more. "_Since there is such negativity surrounding this group, perhaps it would be best if I excused myself to avoid escalation._"

Before John could say or do anything to object, Echo slid off his shoulder and landed on the ground. Before the miniature robot walked off however, he turned back to look up at the green Lanterns. "_Is there a location to which I could conduct self-repair?_"

"Uh, yeah…" Kilowog answered, "Over there." He pointed to his left, to the corner where another small group of green lanterns appeared to be using power tools.

"_Acknowledged, thank you. Kilowog._" Echo replied, before finally stepping off towards the repair station.

The Lanterns watched the little robot go until he disappeared behind another Lantern's legs, and then Green Lantern turned to glare at Kyle. "Really, Kyle?" he asked. "_Really? _You just _had _to get that off your chest."

Kyle blinked, surprised at Lantern's tone. "Wha-? Are you serious, John?" he demanded. "He's just a robot, he doesn't have-"

"That does not excuse your using him as a scapegoat!" Lantern shot back.

In desperation, Kyle turned to Katma, Kilowog, and even some of the other lanterns for help. However, when they all remained silent. Kyle's shoulder sunk as he let out a slow sigh. "Yeah, maybe you're right." He admitted.

Seeing his colleague's gloomy mood, Lantern stepped forward and placed a hand on Kyle's shoulder. "We'll find a way to stop the Manhunters." He declared.

"Actually, John, we might already have something in place." said Kilowog,

Green Lantern blinked at the massive Lantern. "You do?" He asked. "Then you mind filling me in?"

In response, Katma and Kilowog turned to Kyle, who took a moment to clear his throat before speaking. "Before you showed up on Oa and after we met up, I thought up the idea that we should use the Manhunters weapons against them. I thought maybe _that _would give us a chance to fight back."

"Have they worked?" asked Lantern.

Kyle shrugged. "Can't say, we haven't tried."

"Well, then we might get the chance very soon," said Kilowog. "But still, would the Manhunters' weapons even be enough? What if that Android shows up?"

Katma sighed before answering, "…No… We will need our rings back. As for the android… I don't even know where to start."

Green Lantern lifted his right hand, where his dead power ring was still there on his middle finger. A bad feeling was stirring in the pit of his stomach. What Katma said was true, with the Manhunters' weapons they could hold out for a little bit, but in the long haul, every lantern would need to regain their power, which begs the question…

"What did Sinestro do with the Central Battery?" He asked his comrades. The three of them exchanged glances with each other before turning back to him.

"I can't say for sure," said Katma, "Sinestro was about to reveal what he did, but he was interrupted."

Kyle seemed to stiffen up at Katma's last set of words. "I-I had no idea, I didn't hear anything."

"I'm not blaming you, Rayner," assured Katma. "I should've gotten Sinestro to talk sooner."

Green Lantern brought his fingers up to his chin, and thought hard for a moment. Then he shifted his gaze to the far side of the room, and an idea sprang into his brain. "Let me ask Echo something first." he said, starting to walk away from Katma, Kilowog and Kyle. "In the meantime, you three keep discussing the weapons plan."

Green Lantern eventually found Echo sitting on top of a metal table. The miniature robot was trying his best to steady an electric tool in place as its tip sparked over his leg.

"How are you holding up?" Lantern asked.

Echo lifted the tool from his leg and turned to look up at his fellow Leaguer. "_Under the circumstances, this repair should at least sustain my function for the duration of the mission… However, what I require the most is a source to charge my power._"

Lantern nodded and glanced at his ring. "Yeah, you and me both," He muttered, "Listen, I've got a question for you."

"_I will provide what answers I can._"

"You can trace energy signatures," Lantern stated, "Can you locate the energy coming off of Oa's Central Battery?"

As Echo's eyes glowed at his question, Lantern found himself clenching his jaw in nervous anticipation, until... "_Negative._" Echo replied, causing Lantern's shoulders to sink. "_I was not able to detect any trace of the Central Battery, only the energy radiating from the Manhunters._"

"Well, it was still worth a shot," Lantern said, unenthusiastically. "Thing is, now how is our plan gonna work?" He finished under his breath.

"_Perhaps I could offer some insight to the plan," _Echo suggested, "_however I would require knowledge of the details._"

Lantern blinked for a moment and then, despite having virtually nothing, he let Echo in on the Lanterns' plan. After taking a brief moment to process the information, Echo spoke again. "_There may just be a possible method of obtaining the battery's location._"

Lantern's eyebrows shot straight up. "_What!?_" He cried. "How?"

Echo looked right at his eyes as he gave his reply. "_The process I am proposing is quite complex._" He announced. "_Therefore you must listen very carefully._"

* * *

Echo stood on top of the mount of rubble and gazed upon the enormous Citadel directly in front of him. However, before long, several faint golden orbs appeared to fly out from the side of the structure. As the seconds ticked by, the orbs kept growing bigger and bigger, but the miniature robot did not move an inch.

Layers upon layers of dust blew into the air as the Manhunters landed one by one, forming a perimeter around Echo, but the robot kept his gaze forward on the large golden body directly in front of him.

"_Where are the green lanterns?_" said the combined voices of Amazo and Manhunter Prime.

Echo just stood there with his mouth shut and his eyes fixed on Manhunter Prime. Then without warning, a barrage of tiny missiles sprang from his back. The missiles whizzed through the air in every direction before finally burying themselves in the heads of every surrounding Manhunter. All the Manhunters' heads simultaneously exploded, sending their bodies crashing to the ground in a heap.

Despite the rather impressive display however, Echo and Manhunter Prime merely kept their gaze firmly locked on each other. The latter's red eyes began to glow and the two voices spoke once more. "_It seems, with that last attack, you have exhausted your supply of projectile weapons. What's more, your power supply is on the verge of depleting._"

"_Both your statements are… correct._" replied Echo.

"_Then what is to stop me from simply eliminating you?"_

"_In actuality,_ _nothing,_" Echo replied. "_However, I am here to issue you a challenge._"

This caused Manhunter Prime to pause for a moment. Clearly, a challenge was the last thing he was expecting, especially since he knew that the miniature robot stood little to no chance.

"_I do not think that is necessary_." The Manhunter declared. "_For I am now the most powerful being in the universe._"

"_If that were true,_" said Echo, "_then a minute challenge should not be too difficult for you to accomplish._"

Manhunter Prime fell silent again, and if Amazo had a more expressive face, it would be grimacing by now. "_Very well, what is your- _"

"_First, another question._" Echo interrupted. "_What is the location of the Central Battery?_"

"_Not that it matters at the moment,_" commented the Manhunter, "_but during the invasion, I moved the battery to-_"

* * *

"-_the catacombs deep within the bowels of the planet._"

"Got it!" Green Lantern exclaimed as he disconnected his communicator. He turned back to face Katma, Kyle, Kilowog, and a handful of lanterns; every one of them had the same hard-nosed expression. In addition to carrying a baton, nearly every Lantern, John included, had a strap of improvised grenades strung across their shoulders. "It's in the catacombs." Lantern finished.

"I can't believe he took the bait so easily." Kyle remarked.

"Hey, I'm not complaining," shrugged Kilowog, "He gave us what we wanted, but that still doesn't explain why our rings aren't working."

Green Lantern looked between Kyle and Kilowog. "Whatever the reason is, we'll find out when we get there. Ready?" Several lanterns nodded, while others gave courageous shouts, but one merely gazed intently into his eyes. "I still don't think you should come with us, Katma." Most of the other lanterns were deemed too injured to fight, but John's former teacher had insisted on coming regardless of her wounds.

With a big eye roll, Katma answered. "We've been over this, Stewart. This world is my home, and I don't care if I'm missing all of my limbs; _I… will… fight!_"

Silence hung through the air for a moment before Lantern let out a heavy sigh. "Alright fine," he replied with a half-hearted shrug, "just voicing my opinions."

"Hey, sorry to break you two up," said Kyle, "but can we get a move on sometime _today_?"

"Right," Lantern acknowledged. He stepped in front again, and with a wave of him arm he yelled, "Let's move!"

* * *

"… _I have answered your question,_" said the Manhunter, "_now tell me what your challenge is_."

"_I challenge you to a game of chess_," Echo replied, "_according to my calculations: it is a challenge that allows me to preserve the remainder of my power_."

"_Your functionality has no meaning to me_." The android admitted. "_I only accepted your challenge to prove my superiority._"

"_Then let us not waste any more time_." Echo suggested. "_However, may you set up the board? I lack the ability to manipulate matter._"

Amazo's head shifted slightly to the side. _"Pathetic_," Manhunter Prime murmured. "_Issuing a challenge while not having the proper materials._"

When Echo did not respond to his insult, the android's red eyes glowed white. A split second later, a large white block appeared between them, and resting on top of the cube was a shiny, metallic chess set. The two cybernetic beings moved at the exact same time, Echo hopped off the mount of rubble while Manhunter Prime lowered Amazo's body into a sitting position on top of a boulder he pulled in with his telekinesis.

"_You have the first move,_" informed Echo.

Manhunter Prime glanced from the board to Echo. _"I am well aware of how the game works._"He insisted. With that remark, he took a moment to observe the white pieces in front of him. Then finally, he moved the pawn in front of the queen two squares forward with his telekinesis.

Echo stared at his own set of black pieces, before reaching out and moving the pawn in front of the bishop on the queen's side.

* * *

While moving through the claustrophobic tunnels of the catacombs were not difficult feats in themselves. The lanterns had to move fast while, at the same time, keep as quiet as possible, and at the moment, the element of surprise was the only ace in the hole the lanterns had.

Green Lantern raised his fist to signal his fellow lanterns to halt. Bracing his back against the wall, Lantern slowly inched his head around the corner. The stretch of tunnel was empty, but his eyes shot wide open when he saw the faint light at the end. _We're nearly there! _He thought jubilantly.

After determining that the coast was clear, he signaled the lanterns and, as swiftly as possible, they all emerged from the corner and made their way down the tunnel.

Upon exiting the tunnel, the green lanterns realized they were standing in an enormous cavern. The dark stone walls were contorted in smooth curved angles and there was towering pillars that stretched from the ground to the ceiling. In the very center of the cavern was a giant, glowing, yellow dome.

With his military background kicking in, Green Lantern gestured for the other lanterns to seek cover. After they all scattered, Lantern peeked his head out and gazed at the dome. On closer inspection, he could just see the towering Central Battery sitting right inside of it.

The realization hit Lantern like a gust of wind. _So that's why our rings aren't working._ He pieced together. _They used their own energy to block off-_

Green Lantern's train of thought ended when he noticed something move in his peripheral. His heart sank when he saw not one, not two, not three, but about thirty Manhunters patrolling around the dome. _It can __**never**__ just be easy, can't it? _He thought with a shake of his head.

"_Psst._"

Green Lantern turned his head when he heard the sound come from his right. There he saw Kilowog hiding behind a pillar with Kyle. The pink alien was eyeing him expectantly as if to say, "What's the plan?"

Lantern looked away as his mind raced for a solution. As far as he knew, the Manhunters had't discovered them yet, so they still had the element of surprise. Although, the machines outnumbered them at least three to one, not to mention they could still call for help. There was no way around it; they would have to strike the all Manhunters at the same time to stop them from calling reinforcements.

After nodding to reassure himself, he turned to his fellow lanterns, who were all still eyeing him intently. Lantern stretched out his arms, and traced a big circle in the air before him. Then he raised his weapon into a firing position.

The other lanterns paused as they each pondered Lantern's gestures, but eventually they figured it out and nodded in confirmation. Then, one by one, they all moved from the original spots and began making their way around the parameter. Even though he kept his cool demeanor on the outside, on the inside his heart was pounding, this was their one last chance; failure was not an option.

His ear twitched when he heard a sound; a slight crackle. For a second he thought he might have imagined it, but then again, in this situation, why would he imagine such a sound? Hesitantly, Lantern turned to his right, where the sound originated. He then watched, in terrifying slow motion, the small rock fall through the air and smash into tiny pieces upon contact with ground.

Every ounce of Lantern's breath seemed to leave him as he heard the crash echo all over chamber. All he could do was stare at the spot where the rock shattered, and hoping, childishly, that it never happened.

"_THERE!_"

The booming voice shook Lantern back to his senses. However, it seemed he had not recovered quickly enough as hundreds of energy beams began pelleting his position.

* * *

Echo picked up his black bishop and moved it to the right corner of the board, but the second he parted contacted with the piece, it was immediately knocked over by Manhunter Prime's knight. By now, the chess pieces were scattered all over the board, and since Echo was limited on his reach, he had to resort to actually walking around the board to make his moves.

"_Why do you insist on protecting the lanterns whereabouts?_" asked the Manhunter. When Echo ignored him and kept his gaze on the board, the android continued. "_Without their power, they are just like all organics: weak, fragile, and incapable of maintaining order._"

Finally, Echo made his next move. Then then he gazed right into the android's eyes. "_I have more than sufficient information that proves your statement false._" he replied. "_For example: your first defeat at the hands of the Justice League and a handful of green lanterns._"

The android's eyes seemed to curl into something simulating a scowl. "_But now, I have evolved,_" he boasted, "_and nothing will be able to stop me. Not the Justice League and especially not the green lantern corps._"

"_Why are you so intent on destroying the green lanterns?"_ Echo asked. "_What have they done to earn your contempt?_"

Manhunter Prime lifted his head, and conducted a quick scan of pieces of former Manhunters spread all around him and Echo. "_My brothers and I were created by the Guardians of the universe; before the green lantern corps' inception._" He explained. "_We were tasked with maintaining order and peace throughout the universe._"

"_So upon the arrival of the green lanterns_," said Echo, "_The Guardians no longer required your services._"

"_Correct_." Manhunter Prime confirmed. "_The Guardians are violators of our programming. They prevented my brothers and I from fulfilling our directives, and for that they must be destroyed. They __**will **__be destroyed._"

"_Negative,_" Echo argued, "_you will not succeed._"

"_You doubt my power?_" Manhunter questioned, almost mockingly. "_Your low power must be hampering your processor._"

Echo ignored his last statement. "_That 'power' does not belong to you._" He declared. "_You stole it from Amazo, and I will take him back._"

A thick silence seemed to hang in the air for several long seconds, but then, a white chess piece gently floated into the air, and landed several squares away from its original spot.

"_You are more than welcome to try,_" said Manhunter Prime.

* * *

"Son of a-!" Green Lantern cried as a piece of his cover exploded right in his face. By his best estimate, no more than three minutes had passed since him and his fellow green lanterns were discovered by the Manhunters. He tried firing a few pot shots to take some of the pressure of off him, but the randomness of his shots did not faze the killer robots whatsoever.

In desperation, he turned his head left and right to find a means of escape, but there were only energy beams as far as his eyes could see. Eventually, his eyes fell on Kilowog located across from him; the instructor was in a similar situation but was spared a barrage.

"Kilowog!" Lantern yelled over the energy blasts. "Cover me! I'm moving!"

Kilowog stared at him and nodded. Gripping his weapon tightly, he peeked from his cover and fired at the Manhunters. Lantern took this moment of opportunity and sprinted across the opening and slid down next to Kilowog.

"Everything just keeps going from bad to worse, doesn't it?" Kilowog barked.

Lantern winced as an energy beam struck their cover. "No kiddin'!" He bellowed. "I blame Murphy and his stupid law!"

"What!" Kilowog demanded.

"Never mind!" Lantern yelled. "We need to end this now!" In quick fashion, he pulled a grenade from his sling. After realizing what Lantern was about to do, Kilowog pulled out a grenade of his own. "Throw on my mark!" Lantern instructed.

Kilowog nodded in understanding, and then both he and Green Lantern clicked the top of their respective grenades. The grenades lit up and began emitting a steady beeping noise. "Three…" Lantern counted, "…Two… One… Mark!" As the beeping began to pick up speed, Lantern and Kilowog chucked their grenades into the group of Manhunters. As the grenades flew across the cavern, Kilowog and Lantern rolled back into their cover, but Lantern was not fast enough and took a shot to the arm, making him yell and curse with pain.

The devices bounced across the floor of the cavern, and then steadily rolled between the Manhunters' feet. The rapid sound of an explosion erupted throughout the entire cavern, and then, the sound of a second explosion could be heard, quickly followed by yet another. Green Lantern deduced that he and his fellow lanterns all shared the same thought. _Great minds think alike. _He thought.

Green Lantern continued to stare at the swirling dust cloud that was created as a result of the grenade explosions. However, he was weary about approaching any further; the memory of what happen the last time he did was still very fresh on his mind. When the dust finally began to settle, and when no killer robots or energy beams flew out at him. Lantern finally stepped out of his cover and stepped forward.

"Everyone good?"

Without warning, a stab of blazing pain course through his arm, right over where he had been shot. He tried gritting his teeth and enduring the pain, but the gesture did not go unnoticed.

"Maybe you should make sure _you're _good before asking everyone else." suggested Kilowog.

"I'm alright." Lantern mumbled. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw more lanterns appear and noticed that some have also sustained fresh injuries.

"Make sure they're all down and out!" Lantern heard Katma command. "I don't want any surprises." Lantern turned his head to see his old teacher approach him, she too received some scrapes in the fight, but at first glance, it did not appear to be serious.

"What happened back there?" He asked.

Katma seemed to have fought the urge to snort. "Someone wasn't paying attention to their surroundings and let something slip." She answered.

Green Lantern breathed a slow sigh and nodded before turning his attention towards the flickering dome a few yards in front of him. He stretched out his hand and took several steps forward to touch the surface of the dome. Its surface was smoother than glass, but completely unyielding when he tried to push on it.

"So how exactly are we supposed to break through this thing?" Kyle asked. Lantern deduced that he must have appeared while he had his back to Kilowog and Katma.

"Well…" Kilowog began slowly, "We can always do it the old-fashioned way: let's just shoot at it."

Green Lantern considered this idea. It sounded so simple it was ludicrous, but at this point, with him and the other lanterns all hurt and exhausted, he could not come up with a better idea. He let his hand slip off the dome and turned to face his colleagues. "I ain't got a better idea." He admitted rather tiredly. "Let's just do it."

Katma nodded before turning her head to call out to the other Lanterns. Within seconds, the group of Green Lanterns all stood in a semi-circle facing the yellow dome. Then, as if sharing a mental link, they all lifted their weapons up and pointed it at the glowing half-sphere.

"Everyone ready?" Green Lantern asked loudly enough for every other lantern to hear.

His fellow lanterns all yelled in confirmation.

"Alright then!" Lantern continued. "Together on three: One…Two…Th-"

From out of nowhere, the entire cavern began to shake. Some of the lanterns lost their balance and tumbled to the floor. After taking a moment to question what was happening, Green Lantern and his teammates all turned their heads up to the tall ceiling. They did so just in time to see the cracking appear in the stone, before the explosion blasted the dust and debris down upon them.

* * *

Echo picked up his queen and used it to capture Manhunter Prime's last bishop. Unfortunately, the Manhunter's set still outnumbered the miniature robot's by five, but instead of making an immediate retaliation, the android stared at the board for a moment, and then turned his gaze to Echo.

"_That move was… inadvisable,_" said the Manhunter.

"_You and I share different strategies in regards to the game._" Echo retorted. "_Perhaps you should focus on your own._"

"… _You seem to think there is still a probability for you to achieve victory_." Manhunter replied, oddly coldly. "_**Perhaps **__it is time I divulge some information to you._"

Echo stared right back at him and asked, "_What is the information you are referring to?"_

"… _During the early parts of the game, I was made aware of the location of the green lanterns, as well as their attempt to retake the Central Battery._" Manhunter Prime revealed. "_At this very moment, my brothers are snuffing them out._" When Echo did not immediately respond, Manhunter Prime continued. "_It appears that your attempt as to distract me has failed, for __**I **__now have the upper hand_."

Again, Echo did not respond. Manhunter Prime turned his gaze back to the chessboard. He picked up his own queen with his telekinesis, and then used it to knock over Echo's.

"_Check_." He informed.

* * *

When Green Lantern came back to consciousness, all he could feel was something hard and cold pressed against his back. He then realized he was lying on the ground. He opened his eyes found himself staring up onto the curved ceiling of the cavern, where there was now a large gaping hole at the very center.

Against his muscles' wishes, Lantern rolled onto all fours, the simple movement was enough to make him nauseous and he had to stop moving to keep from vomiting.

"Stewart!" came a familiar woman's voice. Lantern turned his gaze and met Katma's eyes. She was standing a few yards away and there were additional cuts over parts of her face and body. Next to Katma were two other green lanterns firing at a group of fast approaching Manhuters. The lanterns were not Kyle or Kilowog; Lantern couldn't tell who they were.

Katma opened her mouth to address Lantern again. Although before any words came out, the two lanterns next to her roared with pain and toppled over. Katma raised her weapon in retaliation for her fallen comrades, but instantly an energy beam swooped in and blasted it out of her hand. After a cry of pain and shock, Katma found herself meeting the cold eyes of a Manhunter, before the latter backhanded her right on the cheek.

Anger flooded Green Lantern as he watched Katma topple over to the ground. He curled his right hand into a fist but to his shock, there was nothing in his hand. Feeling beyond desperate, Lantern scanned all over his vicinity for something, _anything_ he could use to defend himself. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw it: a flicker of green amongst a sea of yellow. Lantern turned his head to the left and stared into the Central Battery, still stuck in its yellow energy prison.

Then he saw it again, this time he was certain. To his absolute astonishment, the Central Battery was still very much alive, and the flickering light was calling out to him. Without another thought, Green Lantern rose to his feet and began to make his way towards the dome. With each step, Lantern noticed the flickering grow more and more intense.

A sharp pain raced through his back and he yelled out in pain. He stumbled a bit on his feet. However, he eventually regained his footing and continued onward. The pain was unbearably intense and he could actually feel his skin boiling, but he ignored it; all he wanted to do was reach the dome.

Lantern was inches away when there was another sharp pain, this time in his right calf. He finally lost his footing and toppled forward on his hands and knees. _No!_ He mentally protested. _Can't… give up now… Need to keep going…_

Slowly, but surely, Lantern crawled forward the last inches, placed his right hand on the dome, but it was as solid as the first time he touched it. He turned his gaze to the Battery again; the flickering was still there, still calling out to him.

…_Need to get… through… Need to…_

Suddenly, his hand seeped through the yellow energy. Encouraged by this, Lantern stood up higher and pressed his whole body against the dome. Slowly but surely, he began to slip past the dome's energy, as if he was slowly sinking into a body of water.

_Almost… there… Just a lit-_

He screamed as a great force hit him squarely on the back. His entire body went limp as he fell forward. Everything around him began to slowly cave in, filling his vision with twisted and distorted images. The last thing he remembered seeing was the green flickering on the Central Battery, and the last thing he remembered hearing, was someone screaming his name.

* * *

"_I wonder… was there ever a time where you thought you had a chance for success?_" asked Manhunter Prime. "_Or do you now realize that your efforts have been futile?_" Once again, Echo did not respond. The miniature robot simply stared at the Manhunter's queen.

"_Your silence is understandable,_" The Android went on, "_Perhaps it is a sign that you have conceded defeat._"

At that, Echo finally spoke. "_Negative, this game has not been concluded._"

The automaton sitting opposite him narrowed his eye sockets. "_Why do you still resist?_" he questioned. "_You have failed. The lanterns have failed. There is no one in the entire universe that can possibly stand against me._"

"_Correction,_" Echo objected. "_It appears that, despite all you so-called 'power', you failed to understand something crucial._"

"_And what would that be?"_

At first, Echo did not answer and Manhunter Prime thought he was going to be ignored again. After a second however, Echo gingerly stretched out his hand to pick up his remaining Knight, and used it to take Manhunter's queen.

"_As long as one life remains,_" He said. "_There will always be resistance against your kind._"

* * *

Katma felt nothing but contempt as she was forced down to her knees. She turned her gaze upward and gave the Manhunter standing before her the hardest glare she could muster. Unfortunately, the robot did not seem to be fazed in the slightest and simply walked away.

"Katma," She turned and saw Kilowog was kneeling next to her, and directly next to him was Kyle, as well as her fellow lanterns that had volunteered for this mission. "Where's John?"

At the question, Katma felt her shoulders sink several inches, and it was with the heaviest of hearts that she shook her head. Kilowog, Kyle, and the other lanterns who had been listening in, all widened their eyes in disbelief.

"_You don't need to feel disheartened for long._" A Manhunter's unbearably cold voice told the lanterns. "_For you all will be joining him shortly, as well as all the other fallen lanterns._"

The green lanterns all turned to scowl at the lone Manhunter standing before them. What they did not see however, was the line of Manhunters standing directly behind them. One by one, the robots raised their batons and pointed them straight at their respective lantern's heads.

"_No man escapes the Manhunters! _" The Manhunter in the front bellowed.

"_No man escapes the-"_ Before the Manhunters standing on the execution line could finish, a soft hum began to play throughout the cavern. Everyone, green lanterns and Manhunters alike, tried focusing to pinpoint its origin, and after about three seconds, the Manhunters turned their attention to the yellow dome in the center of the cavern.

Only now, the dome appeared to be rippling, as though something had disturbed its once calm surface. Inside the dome was an expanding sphere of bright-green light and when the sphere grew large enough to come into contact with the dome, the yellow energy's rippling began to increase immensely. Eventually, a jagged line appeared at the top of the dome and started working its way down the dome. Along the way, the line split off into other jagged lines, making the once smooth surface of the dome look rough and frail.

There was a slight pause as every green lantern held their breath and watched the sight in front of them anxiously, and then, it happened. The yellow dome exploded into a shower of tiny white dots, which lingered in the air for a slight second, and then, like fresh snowflakes or leaves during the fall, the dots began to drifting to the ground.

When the tiny fragments finally cleared from her vision, Katma's eyes instantly fell to the Central Battery resting in the middle of the cavern. Now that it was free from its yellow prison, the Battery had regained its prominent glow and its rays felt comfortably warm against her skin. As more time passed, a concentration of green light began to swirl around the top of the Central Battery. It continued to grow bigger and swirl faster, and eventually, the light became pure energy and shot straight up towards the ceiling. The massive beam hit the ceiling but did not appear to stop; it barreled through the thick stone and maintained its upward velocity. Then, the sound of tunneling stopped with a huge bang, signifying that the beam had punctured all the way to the surface of Oa.

When Katma regained focus on her current situation, she noticed something, or rather someone… floating in front of the Battery. It only took one glance for Katma to notice that all of his wounds had healed, the damages to his costume had been repaired, and, perhaps most importantly, the familiar green glow had reappeared around his body.

Green Lantern was straight as a rod as he gently floated towards the Manhunters and his fellow Lanterns. The green fire in both of his eyes was undeniable as he raised his right hand, and pointed his power ring at the Manhunters.

"End of the line!" he bellowed.

Despite the prominent threat, the Manhunters did not back down. In one swift motion, they all simultaneously aimed their batons at the lone Green Lantern. However, they were all a split second too late, for even before one of the Manhunters could even contemplate about getting a shot off, they all received an energy beam right through the forehead.

* * *

The ground shook violently as the booming sound rumbled against both Echo's and Manhunter Prime's auditory sensors. The latter instantly stood Amazo's body upright and turned his head to gaze at the beam of green light off in the distance.

"_Ah, it appears the Central Battery has been reactivated,_" said Echo.

Manhunter Prime merely stared at the beam for a few more seconds before finally answering, "_That should not be possible. The energy I used to block the lanterns' power should have been impenetrable._"

"_It seems you have miscalculated._" Echo informed, causing the Manhunter to whip around to look at him. "_…Now, if my understanding of green lantern protocol is correct: I believe a certain recitation is in order._"

* * *

Katma, Kilowog, Kyle, and the other green lanterns all approached their one fully powered comrade. Most of them were in rough shape and the worst had to receive support. However, they were able to push past their injuries, because this very moment was what they had been fighting so hard for, and now nothing was going to stand in their way.

Green Lantern remained silent as he looked at each of his fellow lanterns in the eye, and even without words, they completely understood his intentions. They all exchanged nods and, as one cohesive unit, raised their fists high into the air. Lantern turned his head up, and through the gaping hole through the ceiling, he could see Oa's clear sky.

"In brightest day, in blackest night…" Lantern began to say, and below him, the other lanterns spoke with him.

"…No evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, Beware my power…_GREEN LANTERN'S LIGHT! _"

After the last three words, beams of green light simultaneously erupted from all of the Lanterns' rings; they swayed and twisted through the air and snuffed out every trace of darkness inside the cavern.

* * *

Manhunter Prime whipped around and glared at Echo. The pair of dots on the Android's face was no longer red, but a flickering and blazing gold.

"_I should have destroyed you from the very beginning._" The Manhunter said in an eerie tone. "_That way I would have prevented this treachery… Well, no matter…" _In a blur of motion, the Android lifted his arm and enveloped Echo with his telekinesis. _"I will destroy you now and then __**personally **__deal with the green lanterns._"

Echo gazed right into the android's blazing eyes, but did not seem to struggle. Instead, he merely replied, "_Negative._" With rapid movements of his own, Echo raised his left arm and fired a thin strand of wire attached to a barb. The barb landed on Amazo's forehead and then three tiny prongs latched themselves right onto Manhunter Prime's computer chip. "_This ends… now._" The miniature robot finished.

Before the Manhunter Prime could say or do anything, bright, jolts of pure electricity began to arc from the barbs directly onto the chip. Suddenly, the air was filled with a mixture of two agonizing screams. The Android tried desperately to claw and tug at thin wire. However, the attempts all proved to be useless and the Android had no choice but to cradle his head between his hands as the screams became louder and louder.

Then, Manhunter Prime's computer chip began to vibrate, with the intensity picking up with each passing second. The crack in the center of the chip grew more prominent and slowly started to spread. Until finally… it shattered like tempered glass.

"_NOOOOO! _" came one last cry from the Manhunter, and when his voice dissipated through the air, the fragments of the computer chip slipped peacefully from Amazo's head to the floor.

However, things did not appear to be over as the electrical discharge from the destroyed chip backfired onto the thin wire. The current traveled from the strip of metal at unfathomable speeds, and connected with the surface of Echo's arm. There was a slight pause, and then the explosion blasted the miniature robot straight to the ground.

* * *

The static steadily faded from Amazo's vision and he rapid scanned his surroundings. Eventually, he caught sight of several green dots flying through the air. When he zoomed in to get a closer look, he noticed John Stewart leading the pack.

_I have regained control. _He telepathically told the Lantern. _The Manhunter is gone._

However, he realized there was still something missing; his robotic counterpart was not here with him. Where could he have gone? The question passed into Amazo's processor right when his scans noticed an object lying on the ground.

Amazo walked over to his find and crouched down to pick Echo up. The miniature robot resting his hand was no longer in his usual size. Instead, his entire body had shrunken; his two antennae were folded back into his head, reforming the perfectly spherical shape. However, even without conducting any further scans Amazo easily caught sight of Echo's arm, which was blown off at the shoulder, leaving an assortment of frayed and smoking wires.

The sound of feet touching the ground made Amazo look up, and one glance informed him that the Green Lanterns had formed a perimeter and had their rings pointed straight at him.

_Well, this seems… familiar._

* * *

An image flashed in Green Lantern's mind; he was back at that basement in Metropolis with his fellow lanterns, ready to blow Amazo to smithereens. "Yeah, well we can't take any chances." He tried to justify. "We don't know if the Manhunter still has control over you." His eyes shifted to Amazo's hand. "What happened to him?"

_He has been deactivated… His last act freed me from Manhunter Prime's control._

"Well, then… Can you fix him?"

Amazo looked at Echo for a moment before replying. _Perhaps…_

Amazo's eyes glowed white, causing a flash to appear out of nowhere. When the flash faded, every green lantern looked at their surroundings with wide-open eyes. All the piles of rubble and mechanical parts were gone, every hint of a war taking place had vanished and all of the damaged buildings, including the Citadel, were back to their usual selves.

"So… your powers _are_ working." Green Lantern stated.

Amazo made a quick look around before replying. _Yes. The removal of the Manhunters and their power seems to have restored them._

Right as Amazo finished, the Android turned his attention to the faint, green glow emitting from Echo's body. At first glance, he looked infinitely better than when Amazo first found him. The scratches and dents to Echo's body were now gone, and most importantly, his arm had been reattached to the rest of his body.

As Echo's glow grew brighter, his body floated off Amazo's hand. The miniature robot's body began to grow; his narrow eyes lit up, and then with one last burst of green light, Echo remerged, floating in the air next to Amazo.

"_Systems… restored, power level… now at optimal capacity,_" said the miniature robot. He then pivoted his head to side and glazed right into Amazo's red dots. "_Thank you for repairing me._"

Amazo nodded. _You are welcome._

With that, Echo pivoted his head to the other side, where John Stewart stood. The Green Lantern had since lowered his ring, as did his fellow lanterns. "_It appears that we have achieved victory._"

Lantern blinked once, and with a competent smirk, he nodded. "You're right," was all that he said before the cheers and yells erupted into the air around them.

* * *

Green Lantern, Amazo, and Echo were gathered in the center of the Citadel. Directly above them were the Guardians of the universe, who have all fully recovered when the Central Battery came back online. Behind the trio was the rest of the green lantern corps, with Katma, Kilowog, and Kyle at the front of the pack.

"Once again, we owe you a great debt of gratitude, John," said the center-most Guardian. "Your strength of will was what allowed all of us to retake our home from the Manhunters."

Even though Green Lantern maintained his stoic expression, his eyes were positively beaming. "Thank you." He said appreciatively, but he turned and spread his arms out to indicate his surroundings. "But everyone did their part."

"Hm," began another Guardian, "Even the android?"

Green Lantern and Amazo exchanged glances. "Yeah," the former grinned. "I mean, he did put the planet back together and healed the wounded."

_However, I was not able to revive those that have already perished._

"It's not your fault." Green Lantern assured. "They didn't die in vain."

Amazo nodded. _Very well, although there is another detail I should inform you about._

Green Lantern arched an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

_The Manhunter used my powers to transport Sinestro and his accomplice Arkillo to another planet several light years away from Oa. From my observations: the conditions on that planet are… less than ideal._

"_Soooo…. _You're suggesting…"

_Would you like me to transport them back here?_

The sound of murmurs began coming from all sides of the trio, but Green Lantern merely tones them out and raised another smirk. "You know what? Letting'em stay there for a couple more of days wouldn't hurt." The majority of the crowd around them snickered at Lantern's response.

"John," Lantern, Echo, and Amazo all turned and looked down up at the Guardians. "I know you have heard this before, but that does not make it any less true: That ring chose a very worthy Green Lantern."

Green Lantern nodded at the complement. "Thank you, but I was just doing my job."

One by one, the Guardians nodded and filed out of the chamber. The other lanterns took this as a hint, and began making their way towards the exit. However, Katma, Kilowog, and Kyle all approached the trio. "Having you back on Oa would really help a lot, John," said Kilowog, "I don't suppose you still want that assignment change?"

Green Lantern looked right into the Drill Instructor's eyes, and replied, "No, my place is back on Earth."

Kilowog nodded, but looked slightly disappointed. "Yeah, I'll respect that." Then he clapped Kyle in the back. "You've got some _big _shoes to fill, kid."

"W-Wha-" Kyle couldn't finish his words as John and Kilowog's laughter drowned them out. The former suddenly stopped when he felt something warm press against his cheek. He reeled around and found himself gazing into Katma's half-lidded eyes.

"I just wanted to thank you," she whispered with a gentle smile, "for everything you've done."

Green Lantern for a second before returning the smile, and then he stepped close and embraced Katma. "Thanks, Kat. I'll stay in touch." He turned his head and beamed at the other two Lanterns. "With both of you." he added.

"I'll make sure you live up to that promise, Poozer." Kilowog replied.

Lantern chuckled as he and Katma broke apart. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

With that, Green Lantern took a step back from his fellow Lanterns. When Echo and Amazo joined him, he turned to the latter. "Take us home." He instructed. Amazo nodded and his eyes glowed white once more. There was a flash of blinding light, and then the trio was gone.

* * *

When the light vanished again, Green Lantern's nostrils instantly took in the smell of recycled air, and his ears honed in on the sound of humming coming from seemingly every direction. Lantern opened his eyes and realized, to his appreciation, he was back on the monitoring platform on the Watchtower. Directly in front of him was the Martian Manhunter.

"Welcome back," said his fellow founding Leaguer, "how did it go?"

Green Lantern opened his mouth to speak before Echo beat him to the punch. "_The mission was an overall success. As for the details: I have already submitted the report._"

"Very well." The Manhunter nodded, then he turned and went back to his work, but not before he addressed Green Lantern one more time, "I would suggest you get some rest, you look like you need it… _desperately_."

"Uh, yeah…" Green Lantern acknowledged, albeit a little awkwardly. "I'm gonna… go do that. " He turned to face the door, but before he stepped off, he shot a glance at Echo and Amazo. "You two… did good work today."

After the two robots thanked Green Lantern, he started making his way to the door. However, when it slid open, he found none other than Beacon and Supergirl standing in his way.

"You're back!" The Halfa exclaimed.

"How'd it go?" Supergirl asked. "Did you grind those Manhunters to dust? Did you-"

"Kara…_ please_." Green Lantern said exhaustedly while running a hand down his face. "All I want right now is to lie down for a while; if you two want the details…" His sentence trailed off with a gesture to Echo and Amazo.

"Oh… right…" Supergirl replied after a small laugh. "Sorry."

Green Lantern merely grunted and made his way out of the monitoring platform. After watching him disappear around the corner, the two girls turned to the two robots.

"So, what happened on Oa?" asked Supergirl.

"Hold on; let's go somewhere else and talk." Beacon suggested. "That way we won't bother J'onn."

* * *

The group managed to relocate themselves in the cafeteria, and for the next half hour, both Echo and Amazo filled Beacon and Supergirl in on the events that occurred on the Oa. Beacon was admittedly a bit unnerved when she realized that, if Echo had not been able to free Amazo from the Manhunter's control, the latter would have been free to wreak havoc on the universe. One thing that did capture her curiosity, however, was when Echo spoke about his challenging the Manhunter to a chess match.

"You never intended to win, didn't you?" she asked.

"_Correct,_" replied Echo, "_my challenge was to merely serve as distraction while the green lanterns made their attempt to retake the Central Battery._"

"But then the Manhunter discovered your ruse," stated Supergirl. "I'm not gonna lie; you were lucky that everything worked out the way it did."

"_Agreed; the probability of the Manhunter destroying me was very high,_" said Echo, "_I was indeed fortunate that he was willing to participate instead._"

"Well, in any case," Beacon reached out and lightly stroked the miniature robot's head. "I'm just glad you, both of you-"she shot a glance at Amazo, "made it back in okay."

Amazo nodded in thanks while Echo curled his mouth into a smile before speaking again, "_There is another subject I would like to discuss: what was the outcome of your chess game?_"

Beacon blinked at the question and remained silent. Supergirl, on the hand, completely lit up with excitement. In a blur of motion, she turned her head and gazed intently at the Halfa. "So, Rach," she began rapidly, "When can I expect our next date?"

Beacon slumped forward and covered her face with her hand. After letting out a sigh, she turned back to Supergirl with an outlandishly wide grin. "Yeah, Kara," She replied in a mock tone, "Because I have dates all lined up ready to go at a moment's notice."

"_Okay,_ you didn't have to make that face." Supergirl pouted, narrowing her eyes. "Any ballpark time would've been fine."

Beacon chuckled, and then took hold of her girlfriend's hand. "Alright, then I'll let you know as soon as possible, sound good?"

Supergirl beamed at the Halfa for a moment, and then gently squeezed the latter's hand. "Sounds good." She answered.

"_Should you require it: I am willing to make any reservation on your behalf._"

"Thanks Echo," said Beacon, "I'll think about it."

"_You are most welcome_," the little robot replied. "_Now if you'll exit me, I need to return to my station._" Echo gently lifted himself off the table. At the same time, Amazo stood up as well.

_It is time I returned as well._

"Oh? Um, okay." Beacon nodded. Both robots silently gave both girls a subtle wave goodbye before making their way out of the cafeteria together.

* * *

Amazo and Echo remained silent for most of their trip throughout the Watchtower. However, when they entered the hallway leading to the main hall, the Golden Android turned to face miniature robot.

_Echo? I would like to thank you for freeing me from the Manhunter's control._

"_You are welcome." _The miniature robot replied.

_However, you did it at the risk of your very own destruction. May I ask why?_

Echo stopped in his tracks, prompting Amazo to follow suit. The miniature robot then rotated his body and gazed into the Android's red eyes. "_There are two answers to that question, one: the Manhunter would have used your powers as he saw fit; the consequences of his decisions could have put the entire universe in jeopardy._"

Amazo nodded. _That likely would have been the case. Now what of your second answer?_

Echo paused for a second before speaking again. "_The second answer is… is because you were a valued member of the team… and you are my friend._"

Amazo tilted his head slightly. _You consider me valuable, and a… friend?_

"_Affirmative,_" said Echo, _"Assisting my friends and protecting them from harm are just a few of the core routines in my programming. However, I hold those routines as higher priorities."_

_Why?_

In answer, Echo held out his palm. Right as it lit up, a holographic projection appeared in the air between the two robots. The projection was an image of five faces: two male, two female, and one synthetic. All were bunched up against each other, as though they were all trying their best to squeeze into the image's rectangular frame.

Amazo stared intently at the image of several seconds before turning his gaze back to Echo. _I recognize you and Beacon in this image, but who are the other three?_

The Beacon in the image was in her human self and did not have a scar over her left eye. She was located towards the upper corner with her eyes closed. However, her wide-open smile provided more than enough evidence to verify her extremely cheerful mood. Directly next to Beacon was another young girl. She had chin-length dark purple hair and striking amber eyes. Her face was pressed right up against Beacon's, mostly likely due to the latter's arm being hooked around her neck. While her smile was nowhere near as enthusiastic as Beacon's, there were still signs of genuine happiness.

The Echo in the image was located at the very center of the image, positively grinning, with two other human looking boys above and below him. The one above had medium brown hair and blue eyes. His smile radiated equal levels of kindness and confidence. The one below Echo also had brown hair, but instead had thinner eyebrows and brown eyes. He, of course, was smiling as well, but while Beacon and the other boy looked like they were having fun, this boy's smile seemed more professional.

"_The two males' names were Robin Robertson and Jonah Kirk respectively_." Echo explained as he too stared at the image. "_The female's name was Ariella France. They… were all... my friends._"

_They __**were**__?_ Amazo repeated, catching on the past tense.

"_Affirmative,_" Echo replied. "_They have since been… deceased, and no matter what I do, I will never see them again, because I have failed._"

_If that were true, then logically you should have ceased to function._

Echo met the Android's eyes again. "_Correct, but I did not_."

Amazo once again tilted his head in curiosity. _How?_

Echo turned his attention back to the image and gazed into Robin's face. "_Robin once told me that, and I quote, 'even though those we care deeply about are lost forever, as long as we continue to live on; they will never be forgotten.' End quote._" As the miniature robot finished, he curled his hand into a fist and the image disappeared. He then lowered his arm down to his side again as he turned his gaze back to Amazo. "_I realized I did not cease to function because I chose to uphold Robin's, Jonah's, and Ariella's legacies, and continue on to protect the ones I hold dear._ "

It took several moments for Amazo to respond. _I-I see. You seem to have a very strong view of this._

Echo nodded before asking, "_Did you ever have someone you cherished?_"

Amazo looked away at first, but a second later, he turned back with a reply. _Yes. Professor Ivo. He was the one who created me, and though I did not realize it at the time, he meant a great deal to me._

"_It is to my understanding that he is also deceased._" Echo stated.

Amazo hung his head slightly. _Yes. He died shortly after I was created. Then came Luthor, the Justice League, Doctor Fate, and the quest to find my purpose, but I still haven't achieved the latter._

"_Acknowledged._" said Echo. "_However, I will wish you luck on your quest, and should you require assistance, I am willing to what I can._"

_Hm. That's along the lines of what Beacon told me._

"_We do share many perspectives._" Echo replied.

_Regardless, I thank you for the offer. _There was a pause before Amazo continued. _I look forward to our next meeting__._

Echo nodded. "_As do I_," As he finished, he held up his right hand, but Amazo did not seemed to have any idea what the gesture meant. Instead, the Android switched his gaze back and forth between Echo's hand and face several times before finally seeking answers.

_I do not understand._

Now it was Echo's turn to look and his outstretched limb. "…_I was waiting for a high five._"

_A 'high… five'?_

"_Correct_," Echo confirmed. "_I was told it serves as a gesture that demonstrates camaraderie and excitement… It is a… gesture between friends._"

Amazo raised his own right hand and stared at it as he processed the information Echo had just given him. However, after a moment of silence, the Android reached out, and clapped the miniature robot's hand.

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it. What did you guys think of this one? If you have anything on your mind, I would love to hear about it. **

**Me personally, It was fun and interesting to explore the world from another character's perspective. Also, when I was writing the green lanterns reciting their oath, I felt goosebumps pop onto my arms. I wonder if any of you thought it was as epic as I did.**

**Anyway, I wanna thank Jaguarspot for being my Beta reader and everyone else for reading. See you all next time.**


	24. In-between Chapter 9

**I do not own Danny Phantom, or the Justice League.**

**A/N: I wanna thank Jaguarspot once again for proofing this.**

**To Phantom-Thunder: Thanks for the ideas! I'll see how I can put them to use.**

**To ****hilt51: Thank you for expressing your love to Echo! I'm sure he'll love it!**

**To shugokage: I'm happy you like the scene. I wanted to create a good bonding moment between Echo and Amazo. Thanks!**

* * *

Beacon of Justice

In-Between Chapter 9

Dani Fenton slowly leaned back on her cushioned desk chair and stared at the young girl in the monitor. "So, let me get this straight," She began. "The suit of armor was locked up in the Watchtower, an orbiting satellite teeming with that world's most powerful people, and a shady, black-ops group was still able to just sneak on-board and steal it?"

In the monitor, her former student pressed her lips into a line. "_Well, those people knew exactly when to strike._" Rachel justified. "_They knew the Watchtower's security was at its weakest. And once they got to the Annihilator… well,_" she gave a tense shrug. "_the rest was history._"

"Do you guys have any leads as to where it went?" Even though the current events of the Justice League were far beyond her business, Dani still felt uneasy knowing that there was an unstoppable suit of Greek armor on the loose.

"_Right now we're still searching for clues_." Rachel shrugged again. "_J'onn, you know… the League's coordinator? He suspected an inside job, so he suspended the entire civilian crew and has been interrogating some of them for days._" Her voice cracked slightly at the last word.

Dani noticed the change in the younger Halfa's tone and raised an eyebrow. "You okay Rach? Your voice shook a bit there."

Rachel blinked, and her cheeks turned slightly pink. "_It just…_" She paused to let out a sigh before resuming. "_With the civilian crew gone, they asked Echo to pick up the slack. I mean, I know he can keep things running smoothly here, but I feel like they're gonna keep running him till he breaks._"

"I'm sorry to hear that," Dani admitted. "But you wanna know what I think though, if you're really that uncomfortable with it, why don't you just tell them?"

Again, Rachel pressed her lips together. "_Yeah, I've thought of that. It's just things have been kinda crazy since the Annihilator was-_" She stopped mid-sentence and turned her head to the side. "_What's up?_"

"_Hey, Rach,_" said a man's rather cheerful voice. "_Who're you talking to?_"

"_Oh, it's just- HEY! WHAT THE-?!_"

Before Rachel could finish, there was a loud whooshing sound, and then the image on Dani's monitor became rapidly blurred. "Rach?" she demanded as she leaned forward and gripped hard on her chair's armrests. "_Rachel_, what's going on?" When the image regained focus, Dani realized that Rachel was no longer there. Instead, she found herself staring at a man in a red mask that was covering half of his face.

"_Oh, it's Dani!_" The man exclaimed with a broad grin. "_Hey Dani! You remember me?_"

Dani narrowed her eyes curiously, but remained silent.

"_It's me! You know, Flash? The Fastest Man Alive?_"

Dani remained silent a couple more seconds before slowly giving her reply. "Yeah… I remember what you are now… You're the guy that narrowly shook my arm off my shoulder."

Almost immediately, a frown appeared on Flash's face as his eyes grew to the size of giant saucers. "_I-I… w-well… uh… I…_" He shuddered as he vigorously rubbed the back of his head.

Dani laughed at the Scarlet Speedster's embarrassment. "Oh, relax. I was just messing with you." She revealed. "But can you do me a favor, _Flash_?"

The Speedster blinked before answering. "_Uh, sure. What is it?_"

"I was having a conversation with someone; can you put her back on?"

As she finished, Dani heard Rachel's voice come back into the fold. "_Give me **that**!_" Dani watched as Rachel shoved Flash out of frame and then yanked the screen away. Once again, the image on Dani's monitor shook slightly before restoring itself around Rachel's face. However, the younger Halfa's attention was still focused on the Flash off-screen. "_Don't you have anything better to do?"_ She asked heatedly. "_Like stuffing food in your face?_"

"…_Oh yeah!_" exclaimed Flash. "_I just remembered: I have dinner plans with Diana!_" There was a slight pause before he spoke again. "_Well, see'ya, Rach! See'ya, Dani!_" With that, Dani heard the return of the loud whoosh and knew the Speedster was gone.

Focusing her attention back to Rachel, Dani watched her breathe a deep sigh before starting. "'Stuffing food in your face'?" she quoted questioningly.

"_What? It's true._" said Rachel. "_You can always count on him to think with his stomach._"

"I noticed." The older Halfa replied after letting out a chuckle.

"_So where were we?" _asked Rachel. "_Before we were interrupted._"

"Yeah, what's going on with you? Everything alright?"

"_Mm… could be a lot worse; considering what happened._" Rachel admitted. "_But things are good._"

Dani nodded as Rachel took her turn at questions. "_What about you? How's the new training cycle?_"

The older Halfa gave a slight shrug. "The cadets are about halfway through. It's really been same old same old."

"_What about the Ultimen? How are they handling things over there?_"

Dani frowned at Rachel's questions. "They're… Well…" her eyes fell from the younger Halfa's gaze.

"_Dani?_" asked Rachel, sounding concerned. "_Are they okay?_"

"…They're… Physically they're okay, but emotionally… I think the culture shock is still getting to them."

"_Well, it happens to everyone, but I'm sure they'll adjust._" Rachel rationalized. "_Remind me again: They've been there for… what? A couple of weeks?_"

"Close to a month, but they just started training a few days ago." Dani clarified. Then, she took a moment to let out a sigh. "I have no doubts they could pull through, but they're going to be tested today."

"_Really?_" Rachel questioned. "_What's going on?_"

"Well… Ember's in charge of them right now."

Rachel's eyes widened at what Dani said. "_Oh…_" she said slowly with a tone of pity. "_Then you'd be right._"

"Heh, thanks." Dani chuckled. "Well, I gotta get back to it Rach; talk to you later?"

"_Sure,_" agreed the other Halfa. "_See you later, Dani._"

Dani gave one last nod, and then made a slight swiping motion with her hand. The monitor before her vanished from sight. The Halfa leaned back against her chair and surveyed her rest of her office. The room was not overly large, but the faint, light blue paint on the walls was easy on the eyes, and the small couch pressed against the side of the room added a more comforting taste. She lingered a bit on what was lying on the couch. Her puppy, Cujo, was lying near an armrest and was fast asleep. After smiling at the sight of her companion, Dani spun completely around in her chair to come face to face with a large, smoky curved window.

The window gave no hints as to what lied beyond its threshold, but it did allow enough outside light through to brighten Dani's entire office. She steadily rose from her chair and made her way to the window. Upon reaching it, she stretched out her forefinger, and lightly tapped the surface.

Instantly, the smoke's gray hue disappeared and Dani's eyes darted to the sky above. The sky was as blue as she had ever seen it and the big, puffy clouds floating there were the icing on top. Occasionally, she could make out a part of a floating island peer through the cloud layer for a couple of seconds before it was cover again by a new layer of floating mist.

Dani then turned her gaze to the ground below, where crowds of people were either running or strolling to their respectively destinations. However, even amongst the sheer mass of people below, it would have been extremely difficult for Dani to miss the flickering blue-green fire floating in the air.

* * *

**Guardian Training Grounds (Far Frozen)**

A series of strained noises made their way out of each Ultiman's mouth as they pushed their bodies off the ground. Under usual circumstances, doing pushups would have been nothing for them. Their early days as a young superhero team had conditioned their bodies enough to handle the strains of the job. Unfortunately, this pushup exercise had a cold, dark twist. Shifter, Juice, Downpour, and Wind Dragon were currently in a single file line and the first three Ultimen had their feet placed on the shoulders on the person behind them. Wind Dragon had his feet firmly on the ground and was acting as the base. Sadly, the leader of the Ultimen was struggling with all the added weight.

"You all know the drill by now." The voice of Ember McClain came from over the Ultimen's heads. The ghost was sitting comfortably on top of her flame-shaped guitar as she watched the team below. "I'm not gonna count'em unless _all _of you are up."

"Wind Dragon!" exclaimed Downpour. "_GET! UP!_"

The Ultiman on the spotlight firmly squeezed his eyes shut before replying through gritted teeth. "_Shut…Your…Mouth!_" With another loud grunt, he managed to complete the pushup and lock out his elbows.

"Alrighty then," said Ember, sounding unimpressed. "That makes twenty… Now you owe me ten more… Down!"

All four Ultimen dropped their chests back onto the ground and desperately tried to regain their breaths. Slowly, Shifter tilted her head up and gazed up at Ember with pleading eyes. "Please," she panted, "let us rest f-for a couple of seconds."

Ember merely gave her a cold stare. "Not gonna happen." She replied. "You were all late, so you're gonna pay. Now up!"

Each Ultiman let out a groan, and then slowly moved their hands into position for another push-up. However, they were too slow for Ember's liking.

"The sooner you get this done! The sooner we can move on!" She yelled, leaning slightly downward. "Now PUSH… _UP!_"

"C'mon you guys." Juice sighed. "Let's just get this over with already."

"Yeah… I'm with you." Wind Dragon agreed. "Let's do this, guys."

Upon hearing the leader's words of encouragement, Downpour scoffed, "Tough words coming from the guy who was the last one to come up."

"Y'know what, Downpour?" asked Wind Dragon impatiently. "Why don't you just zip it and do your part?"

The male twin blinked before contorting his face into a deep scowl. "Wha- Oh, _that's it!_" In one swift motion, he shuffled his feet off Wind Dragon's shoulders, shoved Juice's off his own, ignored the latter's cries of surprise, and rose to his feet. Then, before Wind Dragon could do anything to retaliate, Downpour lifted him up by the front of his tracksuit.

Since entering the Guardian Program, each Ultiman had been issued a tracksuit as their uniform. Wind Dragon was wearing a red tracksuit. Juice was wearing blue, and the twins had matching purple sets.

"Dude!" exclaimed Dragon, looking shocked. "What the heck are you-?"

"You don't deserve to be team leader!" Downpour snapped. "We're in this situation because of you!"

Wind Dragon glared at his teammate. "What? You wanna do this right now?" As he balled his fist, jets of air began swirling around him in a tight, circular motion. "Well, bring it on then!"

Downpour's scowl deepened and his raised his own balled up fist, but before he drove it right into Dragon's face, his sister and Juice appeared beside them and swiftly pulled them apart.

"Downpour, _no_," Shifter advised sharply. She had both of her hands on her brother's chest, in case the he made any sudden and aggressive movements. "Just calm down, okay?"

"Stay out of this, sis," replied Downpour. Then he directed his attention back to Wind Dragon. "I'm gonna teach him a lesson!"

"Oh yeah?" exclaimed Wind Dragon, making an effort to push back against Juice. "Then what are you waiting for!?"

Suddenly, a string of loud noises blasted through the air. The Ultimen yelled in pain and smacked their hands against their ears. It was as though their ears were threatening to explode from the inside out. When their suffering had subsided enough for them to regain consciousness to the world around them, the team turned to see Ember standing before them with her guitar slung in front of her and looking positively livid.

"That's enough!" The ghost barked. "All of you, fall in line!"

The Ultimen exchanged glances but did not budge.

"NOW!" Ember screamed, causing her ponytail to erupt into a pillar of flames. This time, the scene was enough to spark the team into action. After briefly exclaiming in fear, each Ultiman scrambled on their feet and lined up shoulder to shoulder. As the team stood there with their backs ramrod straight, each one of them utterly refused to meet Ember's fiery eyes.

After a moment, Ember slung her guitar back behind and began pacing back and forth before the Ultimen. "Y'know, I actually thought I could do some _actual _training today." She told the team. "But I guess all of you still can't grasp even the _simplest_ of basics." She stopped her pacing and pointed at Wind Dragon's nose.

"Starting with you!" she resumed. "You're the team leader, which makes _you _personally responsible to make sure both _you _and your team get to where you're supposed to be _on time_."

Wind Dragon's eyes fell in shame as Ember's words finally sunk in. After giving the Ultimen leader one last glare, she stepped over to the next person in line. "And _you!_" she pointed at the Downpour. "You should make sure your leader's doing his job right instead of just yelling at him! Better yet, maybe you oughta step up and take charge of this team!" Ember paused and resumed her pacing. "It's all _really_ simple: when you're told to be somewhere, you will haul your sorry butts there as fast as possible, and considering your abilities, that should be no sweat at all."

"We shouldn't have to put up with this b-"

"_WHAT WAS THAT!?_" In a blink of an eye, Ember brought herself right up to Downpour's face. Apparently, the male twin tried to pass a subtle comment under his breath. Sadly for him, it did not go unheard as he had originally hoped.

"You got something to say, 'Waterboy'?" demanded the guitarist ghost. "Then say it to my face. C'mon, don't be shy!"

"He said 'we shouldn't have to put up with this'!"

Ember jerked her head towards the different voice. She narrowed her eyes when she saw Wind Dragon glaring back at her. Slowly, Ember backed away from Downpour and stepped back in front of the team leader. "Alright then," Her voice sounded strangely steady. "What do _you _have to say?"

Wind Dragon suppressed a snarl. "What do _I _have to say?" he echoed coldly. "How 'bout when we signed up for this, we signed up to be heroes, not to be treated like trash! We're sick of this! Sick of _you!_"

When the Ultiman stopped talking, Ember stepped even closer to his face. "If you don't want to be here, then quit, it's that simple." She hissed, and then retreated a few steps and turned away from the team. "That way you won't waste anymore of my time." She finished as she looked over her shoulder.

The four Ultimen remained silent as they watched their training instructor kick off into the air, and fly towards the big office building standing before them. When they saw Ember disappear inside the building, they each exchanged with one another before they too walked off the training grounds.

* * *

Ember touched back down on the balcony that was located about halfway up the office building. As she walked past the automatic doors and into the lobby, she immediately found her path blocked by her teammate, Dani. The Halfa had a stern look on her face, but the way she stood with her hands in the pocket of her hoodie suggested she was rather relaxed.

"Things went that bad, huh." Dani began.

Ember pinched the bridge of her nose and gave her head a slight shake before turning back to Dani. "Those kids just don't get it," she said. "First: they showed up late, _again_. Then, when I told them to do something as a group, they started turning on each other."

"Well, did you at least tell them where they went wrong?"

"Oh I told them what they needed to correct alright, but here's the thing about them." Ember took a step forward to get closer, and dropped her voice slightly. "Those kids have _no_ desire to be here, I saw it in their eyes. So if they don't even want this, then I'm not gonna waste my time with them."

There was a moment of silence between them, and then Ember began to walk away. "Now if you'll excuse me," She cleared and gently rubbed her throat. "I need to go cool off."

This caused Dani to chuckle. "That might be a little hard considering your head's on fire."

"Ha!" Ember exclaimed exasperatedly, without turning or losing her stride, "Like I've never heard that one before."

* * *

After the Ultimen left the training grounds, the four of them decided to have dinner in the cafeteria. However, despite having trays filled with nutritional food, the team realized they had no appetite. So instead, they began talking.

"I wonder how Long Shadow's been doing." Shifter muttered.

Across from her, Downpour let out a very audible scoff. "If you asked me; he's probably loving every moment of it." He alleged. "Well, good for him; he gets to be a hero with his idols, while we get humiliated and yelled at! I'm just about ready to call it quits."

"You-you can't be serious, Brother," said Shifter, concern resonating in her voice.

Downpour gave her cold expression. "Sis, don't sit there and tell me, or any of us, that you haven't thought about it!"

"O-of course I have!" replied the female twin. "Thing is… it's just… We can't just give up! We owe it to Dani and Frostbite; they _did_ save our lives after all!"

"That is true," Downpour admitted, "but Dani also gave us the choice to start our lives over."

Shifter opened her mouth as if to argue, but then she looked away and hung her head slightly.

"Now that the subject's been brought up," said Juice from Downpour's left. "What would we do if we quit? Where would we go?"

"Well, the obvious answer is: we'll be out on our own." Wind Dragon answered, who sat on Shifter's right. "But the more I think about it, the more I think it's better than here. I mean, just look around you, they _hate us._"

The other Ultimen shifted their eyes all over the large cafeteria, but kept their heads stationary. To their dismay, what their leader said was accurate. All around them were people whose ages were significantly less than their own, but most of them had angry, vengeful looks on their faces.

"Wow, you're right, and it hurt me to say that." Downpour remarked. Wind Dragon snorted as he continued. "I never thought seeing angry kids would bring chills down my spine; they _really _do hate us."

"Well, there may be an explanation for that," said a new voice.

The Ultimen all jumped and they turned their heads to the source of the voice. Standing before them was a rather peculiar young man. His shiny black hair was shaped into a bowl cut. He had thick, wire-framed glasses, and his outfit consisted of a collared shirt, slacks, and a bowtie. Lastly, in his left hand was a rectangular device that the Ultimen guessed was an electric tablet. Oddly enough, the young man's entire being was in grayscale. It was as if he walked straight out of an early black and white television show.

"Uh, I'm sorry but," Wind Dragon began slowly, "who are you?"

The young man frowned. "You don't remember me?" He replied, sounding shocked. "I'm Sidney Poindexter." As he said his name, he pointed to the nametag pinned to the left side of his shirt, which displayed his name in bold, black letters.

The Ultimen stared at Poindexter's nametag for a few seconds, but when they looked back at him, each one of them looked as confused as before. "Yeah, still have no idea," said Downpour bluntly.

"Seriously? I was the one that did all the paperwork to get you into this program!" Poindexter paused to run a hand down his face and breathe a sigh. "Why do I even bother? No one _ever _pays attention to any of the administrative work that keeps things running smoothly."

"Oh, we're sorry… Sidney," said Shifter sympathetically. "With…well, everything happening, we forgot about all that. But what were you gonna tell us about everyone hating us?"

"Well, first off: not _everyone_ hates you, just the slight majority." Poindexter explained.

"Yeah, because _that _makes a difference." Downpour said, rolling his eyes.

"Actually, it does, but that's beside the point." Poindexter retorted as he began making his way around their table. "The reason the other cadets hate you is because you have a different training schedule than they do. May I sit down?"

Shifter blinked at him for a second before answering. "Uh, sure."

"Thank you," said the gray ghost. After making himself comfortable on the table, he looked each Ultiman in the eye before continuing on, "when your paperwork finally went through, the cadets were already about halfway into their training cycle. However, when you four were assigned to a type of accelerated training program, they saw you in a different light because you haven't been through what they have."

"That's just ridiculous!" Downpour snapped. "It's not even out fault for being in an 'accelerated' program!" His fingers sketched quotation marks around the word 'accelerated'.

"True," Poindexter agreed. "but what did you expect? They're kids; they see something that they think is remotely unfair, they'd pounce on it like rapid animals."

"Now quitting sounds better and better with each second." Wind Dragon muttered.

"What?" Poindexter demanded, turning back to face the Ultimen's leader. "_Quitting?_"

"Yeah," Shifter revealed, "But we still don't know if we're really going through with it though."

"I have a question about that," said Juice. "What happens if we quit?"

Poindexter sighed again, and began scrolling through his tablet. "Well, according to the Guardian regulation article 23, paragraph 9, sub-section 13: 'Any cadet(s) that voluntarily withdraws from training will be placed into resignation processing. After which the cadet(s) in question will be released from the Guardian Program. Once processing is complete, the Guardian Program will revoke all responsibility to the cadet(s). In turn, said cadet(s) will be revoked of all pay and benefits'."

"So, basically we'll have to fend for ourselves?" Wind Dragon asked.

Poindexter nodded.

"B-but can we come back if things don't work out?" Shifter wanted to know.

Poindexter's expression became tense as he thought about his answer. "Hm, I'm sure you can, but it'll be _really _hard to, hang on a second." He turned back to his tablet, but this time he took longer to find what his was looking for. "Ah, here it is, 'Any cadet(s) that previously withdrew voluntarily has the opportunity to reenter the Guardian Program with approval from the Guardian's Council and by submitting an explanation as to why re-admittance should be granted'. Now here's the catch: The Council has _way _more important things to worry about than a cadet, or in this case, _cadets_, who decided to call it quits. So if you quit but want to come back, chances are slim that you actually will."

The Ultimen all turned to each other as they pondered what Poindexter had told them. At the moment, they were literally facing an ultimatum: either stick with the training and be a part of something big, or quit now and take their chances out in an unknown world."

"I see that you all are thinking hard about this, so I'll take my leave." Four pairs of eyes turned back to Poindexter as he stood back up. The gray ghost paused for a moment to adjust his bowtie before continuing to address the team. "I do want you to know this though: whatever choice you make, I will not hold it against you. Have a good night." With that, he walked away.

* * *

_Tap tap tap._

There was nothing but silence as Dani stared at the plain wooden door in front of her. She kept her right hand curled into a soft fist as she held it a few inches from the door.

"_BARK Bark." _

Dani turned her gaze downward and saw Cujo staring back at her with his wide, googly eyes.

"Yeah, I think you're right," said the Halfa, "I don't think they heard me either."

With that conclusion in mind, Dani shifted her hand forward and knocked on the door again.

_Tap tap tap._

After a few seconds, Dani finally heard the doorknob click and the door creak open. When the door was wide enough, she found herself staring into Wind Dragon's tried face. His hair look disheveled, and he was rubbing one of his eyes with his hand.

"D-Dani?" said the Ulitman softly.

"Morning, Dragon." Dani greeted, sounding far more cheerful. "Had a rough night?

Wind Dragon brought his hand down to cover a yawn before answering. "Yeah, I guess you could say th- Wait!" Suddenly, his eyes threatened to burst out of their sockets and his eyebrows rose so high that they almost disappeared beyond his hairline.

"We're not late again, are we?" he asked, his voice now raised.

Dani frowned. "Uh,"

"Aw CRAP!" Wind Dragon exclaimed. Then he turned his head around and spoke the figure in bed across from his. "Juice! Hey Juice, wake up!"

When Juice's electric blue eyes flicked open, he turned and stared at Dragon, and then shifted to Dani. After a brief second, his eyes bulged out as well and he literally threw himself out of bed.

"Uh guys, what are you doing?" asked Dani.

Both Wind Dragon and Juice blinked once, and the former replied, "Aren't you here to tell us that we're late?"

"Late to where?"

Dragon and his teammate exchanged looks. "L-Late to training, I mean, what else is there?" Dragon answered.

Now it was Dani's turn to blink in confusion, but after a few seconds of silence, her lips curled into a big smile and she let out a hearty laugh.

"Huh?" exclaimed Wind Dragon and Juice.

"What's so funny?" asked the former.

It took Dani another second to compose herself before finally giving an answer. "You guys, there's no training today." Dani revealed as she wiped her finger over her eye. "It's the _weekend_."

"Wha-… Wait… _What?_" Both Wind Dragon's voice and face radiated pure astonishment.

"Don't tell me you've been pushed so hard you forgot what day of the week it is," said Dani.

"Uh, well… it's just…" stuttered Wind Dragon, he paused to briefly exchange looks with juice before returning his gaze to the Halfa. "It's just we had a rough day yesterday."

"Hm," Dani pressed her lips into a line. "I'm aware of that, Ember told me what happened."

At the news, both Ultimen suddenly looked nervous. "What did she say?" asked Juice.

"…It doesn't really matter at this point." Dani replied, with a slight firmness in her tone. "Anyhow, I was wondering what your plans were for today."

"Oh? Uh…" Wind Dragon and Juice exchanged glances again.

"Actually… I thought we were gonna be training today," said Dragon, "but now that there's no-"

"_So_ you've got nothing planned." Dani quickly stated. "That's great! Why don't you wake up the twins, and then meet us down in the lobby in say… the next half hour?"

"Arf! Arf!" barked Cujo cheerfully.

"Um," The expression on Wind Dragon's face gave off a sense of deep inner conflict, as if one part of him deeply wanted to object, but the same time, another part of him did not want to.

Several seconds later, Wind Dragon revealed which side of him had won. "Okay, Dani. We'll be down in just a sec."

Dani's lips curled into a wide, open grin. "_Awesome!" _she exclaimed. "Cujo and I will see ya then."

With that, the Halfa and her canine companion turned on the spot, and walked away from Wind Dragon and Juice's room.

* * *

Cujo was snuggled in Dani's arms as she sat comfortably on the black plush sofa. Despite it being the weekend, the lobby of the training center was still occupied by scores of people. However, the number of people this time around was substantially fewer than the number of people on a regular weekday.

With a flick of the wrist, Dani's sleeve fell back a few inches, exposing her silver wristwatch. The bright, neon green display indicated that nearly twenty-eight minutes had elapsed since she last spoke the Wind Dragon and Juice. While she was confident that the team would appear within the next minute or two, she braced herself for the possibility that she would have to make a return trip to the dormitories.

A few seconds after that train of thought though, Dani finally saw the Ultimen approaching her. The Halfa perked up a friendly smile before getting up to meet the team halfway.

"Glad you guys could make it," said Dani, "and with a couple minutes to spare, I might add."

Wind Dragon gave a lazy shrug. "Well, you can blame these two for making us nearly late." He turned a jerked a thumb at the twins, who upon inspection, had made their hair into untidy ponytails and genuinely looked displeased with their current situation.

"Watch it, Dragon." Shifter jabbed. "And to be fair: I was ready long before my brother."

"_Really_, Sis?" Downpour glared at his sibling. "You're really gonna pin this on me?"

Shifter gave her brother a look as she crossed her arms. "Well, _I _wasn't the one that was complaining about wasting our time."

"Wait, what?" asked Dani. At the sound of her voice, the four Ultimen all froze. It was as though they had just been reminded of her presence. "You thought I was wasting your time?" In her arms, Cujo furrowed his eyebrows and let out a soft growl.

There was another pause, and then Downpour shifted his eyes to Shifter. "Gee, thanks, Sis."

As his sister's face fell in shame, Downpour turned his focus back to Dani. "I wasn't talking about _you _specifically… Just about… whatever it is you're gonna have us do."

Dani arched her eyebrow, looking utterly unconvinced. "That's basically the same thing." She replied. "Why do you think I was wasting your time?"

"Well…" Downpour began slowly rubbing the back of his neck, looking anywhere but the Halfa's eyes.

"Besides that, how do you know what I had planned, or whether or not that would a waste of time?" Dani continued to question. "Did you suddenly gain the power to read minds?"

"…N-no… I…"

"Then what is it?"

As Downpour continued to look at a loss for words, Wind Dragon stepped in for his teammate. "Dani, to be fair, you never told us what it is that we're gonna be doing." He revealed. "You only told us to meet you down _here_."

In response, Dani blinked and shook her head. "Oh, man. That's _right! _I'm sorry, you guys." She said with a grin. "How 'about this: we go and have breakfast first. Then I'll brief you on what we need to do. Does that sound good?"

While the Ultimen still looked confused, the sound of food seemed to have gained their interest. One by one, they each gave Dani a nod.

Dani's grin widened slightly. "Great!" She exclaimed. "Let's go."

* * *

After a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, and waffles. Dani led the Ultimen down another hallway and eventually into another massive room that resembled the inside of a pillar with a wide opening at the top, or least the Ultimen guessed that it would be wide; they couldn't tell because the building was so tall.

Once the Ultimen's shock had worn off, the team realized that Dani had led them to a large and odd-looking vehicle. It was painted white and was shaped like a sideways cylinder. Although the vehicle was resting on its three landing gears, it did not seem to have any wheels, wings, or in fact _any _method of gaining movement.

"Now, before you ask me what this is," Dani began. "This is a Specter Speeder: one of the basic amphibious vehicles in the Guardian Program."

"It's amphibious?" Downpour questioned, bending slightly to scan the Specter Speeder. "It doesn't even look like it can move."

"That's because it's not on." Dani replied matter-of-factly. Then the Halfa turned to press on the side of the Specter Speeder. There was a soft hiss as the vehicle's hatch popped open, revealing the two rows of bench seats and the various inside.

There was a slight pause, and then Cujo let out a cheerful bark and hopped on board the Speeder. The Ultimen would have done the same thing as the green puppy, but their path was still blocked by Dani, her expression suddenly became serious. "Now before we get this show on the road," The Halfa began. "Here's what's happening."

Each Ultiman blinked at what they had just heard, and then Downpour decided to add his two cents. "Hallelujah! Finally, _some answers_."

His teammates immediately shot him a glare and shushed him. Dani however, utterly ignored what just transpired before her. "Did you guys hear about the earthquake that happened in Australia last week?"

Wind Dragon, Downpour, and Shifter all blinked and remained silent. Juice, on the other hand, pounced right on the question. "There was a fault that blew right in the middle of a city."

"Melbourne." Dani elaborated. As she said it, she pulled out her phone, flipped through it for a couple of seconds, and then showed the Ultimen a copy of a news article covering the event. The title read:

**_ Melbourne Devastated By 8.3 Scale Earthquake_**

Since the words on the rest of the article were too small to read, the Ultimen turned their attention to images placed under the title. The first image they noticed displayed the remnants of the city's buildings, now looking more like piles of rubble instead of symmetrical structures.

"Was it… as bad as it looks?" asked Shifter in a low voice.

"Well… it destroyed half the city." Juice answered grimly.

Dani nodded, and then placed her phone back in her pocket. "And roughly a hundred people died and nearly double that were injured." She added.

"So then, is that what we're gonna do?" asked Wind Dragon. His tone sounded slightly fierce, as though a fire had erupted at the thought of helping those affected by the disaster.

Dani locked eyes with the Ultmen's leader, and smiled. "We're going to help out in the refugee camps: doing whatever is needed to make their lives easier."

Dani paused to let what she had just said sink into the Ultimen's brains before finishing with, "Any more questions?"

The Ultimen exchanged looks, but did not speak again. Dani took the silence for answer, and nodded. Then, the Halfa gestured for them to climb on board the Specter Speeder.

* * *

"Everyone strapped in?" Dani asked as she pressed the buttons and flipped the switch on the Speeder's control panel. Sitting next to the Halfa were Cujo and Juice, and Wind Dragon and the twins occupied the backseats, with Shifter sitting in between the two. After the Ultimen gave her a soft confirmation, she pressed and held the button near the control column. "Control Tower, this is Dani Fenton on board Sierra-Sierra 214, requesting takeoff clearance, over."

A second later, a voice spoke from the intercom. "_Sierra-Sierra 214, takeoff clearance has been cleared. Be advised: comm frequency is 147.06. Have a safe flight, Ma'am._"

"Copy," replied the Halfa. "Setting frequency to 147.06, and for the record, it's just _Dani_… out."

Dani disconnected the call, and pulled the control column back slightly. The engines to the Specter Speeder roared to life and lifted itself into the air. Once the vehicle was clear of its landing pad, Dani pulled the column back even further until she could see the open at the top of the building. Finally, she accelerated the Speeder upward, and shot straight up into the wide, blue sky.

* * *

"Hey Dani, I've got something to ask." Shifter broke the silence.

"Shoot." The Halfa replied, keeping her eyes forward.

Shifter opened her mouth to speak, but when she caught sight of her teammates and even Cujo eyeing her curiously, she felt her cheeks grow instantly hot. "Do… do you know… who K is?"

Now it was Dani's turn to look at Shifter. As she did so, her expression fell into a frown. "You saw it on Ember's guitar, didn't you?"

Slowly, Shifter nodded.

"Wait, wait," interjected Downpour. "There was something on Ember's guitar?"

Shifter looked right into her brother's eyes. "Yeah," she said, now more confidently. "It was on the corner of the guitar. It said 'From K' in bright purple letters."

"Hey, I remember now!" exclaimed Juice, who had turned his body completely around and leaned into the back of his seat. "I _did _see something on it as she walked away from us."

There was a slight pause as Wind Dragon scratched his head. "I don't remember seeing anything on her guitar."

"Me neither," said Downpour. "All I could remember about it was how it nearly made me deaf." He took his index finger and gently rubbed one of his ears.

"Maybe it's because you two were too busy sulking after being scolded." Shifter smirked. Juice laughed at the joke, and even Dani was heard chuckling softly.

"So, Dani," said Shifter, regaining refocus. "Who's K?"

The Ultimen turned their attention to the Halfa as she let out a slow breath. "K was… someone Ember knew, way back when," she revealed hesitantly

"_Was?_" Shifter echoed loudly. "But who was he? Was it a he? I assume it was a he."

Dani's shoulders tensed as she winced. "I'm sorry, but it's not my place to say anymore." She revealed. "Even the little bit I told you would send Em through the roof."

As another awkward silence surrounded the Specter Speeder, the Ultimen exchanged looks with one another as they all pondered the same thing. Whoever this 'K' was must have meant a great deal to Ember. The message on her guitar was clear evidence to support that theory. As to K's identity, the team could only guess. Was he a relative? Was he a close friend? Or maybe even something _more_.

Before they could ask more however, there was a beep from the control panel. "Oh, we're here," said Dani, sounding strangely relieved.

* * *

The devastation in Melbourne was even worse in person. A news article could never hope to capture the smell of dust in the air, or the sounds of suffering victims.

While Dani and Cujo kept their gazes forward as they wandered through the camp, the Ultimen could not bring it upon themselves to keep their eyes on one place. Their hearts could not bear the sight of so many people suffering all at once.

"Hey, D-Dani." Shifter stuttered.

"Hm?" mused the Halfa.

"How exactly are we gonna help all these people?" asked Shifter. "I mean, I don't even know where to start."

"Oh, it's no big deal." Dani smiled. "We're gonna talk with the one in charge here and she's gonna divvy out some tasks for us." She paused for a moment as her eyes shifted to the side. "Oh! And _there's _she is." she pointed in the direction she was looking for clarification.

The Ultimen all followed Dani's indication and what they saw was the back of woman with long blond hair tied together in a single braid. She appeared to be facing a tremendously large crowd, with nothing but a couple thick barriers between them. Also, judging from the flashing lights coming from the crowd, the microphones in the people's hands, and the nonstop jumble of sounds, it was ridiculously easy for the Ultimen to figure out that the crowd was a herd of reporters.

"Your Majesty!" They heard one of the reporters exclaim. The Ultimen exchanged looks with one another. Apparently, there was someone of royalty here. "How will the Guardians use its resource to rebuild the city?"

"Our first priority is to provide care for the citizens of Melbourne that have been devastated by this tragedy," said the Royal, in a calm and soothing voice. "Once that has been accomplished, we will bring additional resources to assist with the city's reconstruction."

"Your Majesty, your Majesty! Over here!" screamed another reporter. "Should the Australian government be concerned about the number of Guardians here in one place? Considering the explosion at the Headquarters, should Australia be concerned that her people might be caught in some sort of crossfire?"

A painful silence began to spread around the entire city block. The Ultimen all raised their eyebrows and turned to look at Dani for answers. Unfortunately, the Halfa did not look back at them; instead, she just kept her eyes of the crowd with a deep frown on her face.

"…The Guardian Program will always strive to help any persons, community, or nations in need." The blonde woman resumed. "We will always aspire to be symbols of both protection and hope… Now if you'll excuse me, I must to attend to the refugees. Good day to you all."

With that, the woman took a step back from the reporters, ignoring their pleas to answer more questions. When she finally turned around, the Ultimen took a moment to take in her features. She had a very gentle face, with thin black eyebrows and round, glowing red eyes. The most prominent feature the team noticed was her bright green skin, leaving them with the conclusion that this woman was in fact, a ghost.

Since they were caught in the moment of their realization, the Ultimen failed to notice the woman seeing them, and then curling her lips into a friendly smile.

"Dani!" she exclaimed. She and the Halfa both took a step towards each other, and hugged.

"Hey, Dora." Dani replied. "How are things?"

The two women broke apart and 'Dora' beamed into Dani's eyes. "Things are steadily improving since the quake, and now the relief effort is in full-swing. And I want to thank you for volunteering your time to come here."

"It's no biggie." Dani shrugged.

Dora's grin broadened as she nodded. Then, she peered over Dani's shoulder to see the Ultimen staring at them. "Hel_lo_, who do we have here?"

"Oh? Uh," Wind Dragon began, taking a moment to clear his throat. "We're the Ultimen... ma'am."

Dora blinked before mouthing the team's name. Then, she raised her eyebrows and formed an 'oh' with her mouth. "Yes, of course!" she said cheerfully. "Dani has told me so much about you. How you all were guardians from another realm."

"That's right," confirmed Dragon. "I'm Wind Dragon. This is Juice." He gestured to his electric teammate standing to his left, and then to the twins on his right. "And this is Downpour and Shifter."

"It's pleasure to finally meet you all." Dora replied. Then she placed her hand over her chest. "My name is Queen Dorathea, but as you can tell from Dani, you can just call me Dora."

"Nice to meet you too, Dora," said Downpour, pausing slightly and looking curious. "And can I ask what you do in the Guardian's?"

"Why, of _course _you can." Dora replied. "I am the head of the Guardian's Department of Individual Resources. I am in charge of helping any Guardian with any problems they encounter in both their professional and personal lives."

"Dora's also in charge of the Guardian's Community Outreach Program." Dani added. "Speaking of which, we've been wondering what you need us to do around here."

"Oh, yes. Of course," said the queen. "Here's what's on the agenda."

* * *

After receiving their respective tasks from Dora, the Ultimen and Dani went their separate ways. Dani was sent attend to the refugees while the team accompanied Dora to another site somewhere under the camp. As they walked through the narrow stone tunnels, the queen told the Ultimen that they were going to assist with restoring Melbourne's power grid. She was hopeful that giving the citizens access to electricity would be major boost to their morale. After another minute or so, they left the tunnels and entered into a giant box-shaped room, its sheer size made each Ultiman question just how deep underground they truly were.

A soft noise made them shift their focus, and the team quickly realized there was a man crouching in front of a massive piece of equipment in the middle of the room. The man had his back to Dora and the team so they could not make out his features. However, they were able to take in his slender build and short, dark hair.

Before the Ultimen could ask for the identity of the man, Dora had already begun making her way towards him. After some hesitation, the team decided to follow the queen as well. When they were within an estimate range of earshot, Dora addressed the man.

"Oh, Wesley," she called.

Almost immediately, every muscle on the man seemed to tense up and he jumped to his feet so fast, the Ultimen could hear several of his joint pop in quick succession. The man's reaction to being addressed was so completely unexpected, it made the Ultimen jump as well; Shifter even gasped.

Finally, the man turned on his feet and revealed his face. He had a rather egged-shaped head, a youthful complexion, and a pair of square, black glasses framed his currently bugling hazelnut eyes.

"Oh! D-Dora!" He sputtered between breathes. "Geez, y-you made jump out of my skin."

"I-I'm sorry." Dora giggled. "I just wanted your attention."

After placing his hands on his hips, Wesley took a moment to recollect his breath. "Well, you _definitely _have it now," he said good-humoredly. "So, what did you need?"

"I wanted to check on your progress on the generator," replied the queen. Then she turned to the Ultimen. "And also to see if these Ultimen can provide assistance."

Wesley took a moment to survey the team in front of him. "Sure, I could use their help." He turned back to look his work on the generator, which consisted on an open panel and several exposed wires. "Actually, I could _really _use their help."

Dora chuckled. "Excellent, then I shall leave you to it. If you need me, I will be back at camp."

After Wesley and the Ultimen muttered their thanks, Dora gave them all a nod and turned to make her exit. Once the queen disappeared behind the hallway, Wesley turned back to the team. "I didn't get your guys' names."

Each Ultiman introduced themselves in quick succession. However, their names seemed to catch Wesley by surprise because as he heard them come out of their respective owner's mouths, his eyebrows rose higher and higher.

"Those are, um..." he paused to clear his throat, "some pretty strange names. Are they… nicknames?"

"And just what did you mean by that?" Downpour snapped. "It's not like we got a choice in picking them!"

"Downpour!" Wind Dragon stepped in front of his teammate to stop the latter's advancement. "Calm down, don't start this right now." He dropped his voice to a low whisper.

Before them, Wesley held up his hands rather defensively. "Whoa, whoa, easy there, guy. I'm sorry if I offended you." He said. "Maybe strange was the wrong word. I should've used… _unique_ instead."

Another moment of silence fell between the group. Then, thankfully, Downpour breathed a heavy sigh, and straightened himself out. "Sorry," he said rather grumpily.

"It's all good." Wesley forgave slowly. "I was gonna say, though. I notice _a lot _of pent up aggression there. What's the matter? Training getting too stressful?"

"Wait, how'd you know we were in training?" asked Dragon incredulously.

Wesley let out a soft chuckle. "Dude, your uniforms are dead giveaways." He paused to look at Downpour. "Not to mention that I'm all too familiar with the 'I am so frustrated with training' look."

The Ultimen all looked at one another before Wind Dragon spoke again. "Yeah, well, let's just say Ember gave us a very rough time yesterday."

"I think you might've put it a little too mildly there, Dragon." muttered Downpour.

"Hold on, back up a bit." Wesley said suddenly, causing the Ultimen to react with surprise. "You're saying you actually got _Ember _as an instructor? How'd you manage to get that?"

The shock in his voice only added more confusion amongst the team. "Uh, you seem to think that having her is a _good _thing."

Wesley blinked. "Of _course _it's a good thing." He replied exasperatedly. "Ember's one of the most renowned instructors out there! Heck, she's one of the most renowned Guardians _period._"

"Uh, dude, are you sure you aren't thinking of a different person?" questioned Downpour.

"Yeah, the only training she gave us were push up and push down." Juice added.

"Well, to be fair, those were smoking sessions; not actual training," said Wesley.

"Then Wesley, would you mind telling us your point?" Shifter asked patiently.

"Yeah," interjected Downpour, taking the cue from his sister. "Because clearly you know something we don't; is there, like, some secret floating around somewhere?"

Unfortunately, instead of giving answers, Wesley laughed, and quietly literally doubled over.

"What the heck is so funny?" Downpour demanded loudly. As he took a step forward, his teammates caught a glimpse at his expression. The male twin looked like he was just about ready to punch Wesley right in the face.

Fortunately, before Downpour could follow through with the impulse, Wesley's laughter ceased and he answered Downpour's question. "I'm s-sorry." He said. "It's funny because I remember asking the _exact_ same thing." He took a deep breath, and then straightened his posture to look each Ultiman in the face. "…Guys, there _is _no secret. You wanna succeed? You're gonna have to come together as a team."

The change in Wesley's tone coupled with his words seemed to suppress the Ultimen's abilities to speak. "Let me guess; when Ember was making you do all those pushups, she only counted them when you all did them together, right?" Slowly, one by one, each Ultiman gave very slow nods. "There you go, in the Guardians, teamwork is paramount. You either succeed as a team, or you'll all fail as one."

Suddenly, as though Wesley's message had lifted some sort of thick curtain, everything was clear to the Ultimen. Everything they've done in training had been set up to be team orientated. The fact that Ember made them do pushups all together was a means to keep one another accountable.

Without any thought, they looked at each other, and saw the guilt and shame reflected in their faces. For they all knew deep down, all they had were each other. Not only did they come into existence together, but they also faced their near-deaths together. If they could survive that, surely they could survive a series of physical exercises.

"There's one more thing I want to add." Wesley went on, regaining the Ultimen's attention. "I know training is stressful; Trust me, I've been through it too. And don't feel discouraged when there's tension amongst the team; it happens."

The Ultimen looked at one another again, and to their surprise, they felt their lips curl into small, but distinct grins. Wind Dragon looked back at Wesley. "Thanks for the pep talk, Wesley. But we'll figure things out."

Wesley smiled back at them. "No problem." He turned on the spot and stared at the large generator behind him. "Now let's see if we can get thing back up and running."

"I can help with that," announced Juice.

Wesley only had time to make a quick glance before the Ultiman walked past him and couched down in front of the generator. After a slight pause, Juice ranged out, and wrapped his index fingers and thumbs around two separate wires.

"Uh, what are you-" Wesley's sentence was cut off abruptly when he saw sparks fly out of Juice's fingers. Immediately afterward, he heard the sounds of levers clicking, and heavy metal cranking from inside the generator. The noises kept increasing their volume, until finally, the generator gave a thunderous roar as it turned over and began to run.

"Alright!" Wind Dragon boasted. Strangely, despite the uproar during the generator's starting, the machine was not overly noisy now that it was in its operation. When Juice rose back to his feet, he saw Dragon extend his hand, and without hesitation, he happily clapped it with his own.

Shortly after, the twins joined the pair to give their own praises for Juice's accomplishment. Wesley, on the other hand, merely stared at them with bulging eyes.

"Juice, you-you're… you're an _Elemental?_" He stuttered.

The Ultimen all looked at one another, utterly confused by the term. "What are you talking about?" asked Wind Dragon. "What's an Elemental?"

Wesley blinked and cleared his throat before answering. "Sorry… uh well, Elementals are people that can generate or manipulate the natural elements, like air, water, fire, and…" He paused to gesture Juice, and then added. "Electricity."

"Oh, okay." Downpour nodded as he glanced at his teammates. "Then we're _all _Elementals…"

"Wait, _what!_"

"Well, 'cept for you, sis." Downpour ended his sentence with a conniving smirk.

Shifter twisted her face into a deep scowl as she glared at her brother. "Oh bite me, Downpour, or better yet, I'll turn into a lion and bite _you_."

While Downpour did not retort, Juice let out a hearty laugh.

"So... you're…_all_ _Elementals_?" demanded Wesley.

"Yeah, except for her." Downpour clarified, jerking a thumb at Shifter.

"I know, I know," Wesley quickly replied. He paused to regain his compose, again. "Now, that I think about it; your names now make sense." He let out a hearty chuckle. "Wow, I can't believe it; of all the people I could meet, I meet _three _Elementals and a Shape-Shifter! I mean, the best I can do is walk through walls, disappear, and fly." As he finished his last sentence, the Ultimen noticed his eyes turn yellow-green.

"So you're a Halfa then," Shifter realized.

"Yep," Wesley replied. He blinked and his eyes returned to their usual brown. "Now, come on, let's go tell Dora the good news... Heh, as if everyone wouldn't notice the power turning back on."

* * *

When the Ultimen and Wesley returned to the refugee camp, they immediately noticed how better Melbourne was already beginning to look. Granted, it was still very crowded, but the sight of said people having access to electricity did manage to shed some much-needed light onto the atmosphere of the camp.

The group eventually found Dora near a large metal container in the middle of the camp. Upon taking a closer look, they realized the queen was overseeing another group hauling large quantities of steaming hot food onto a series of long tables staged in front of the container. The team and Wesley made their way around the tables and continued their way towards Dora, who smiled at them when she saw them approaching."

"Ah, there you are," said the queen. "Thank you for restoring the generator."

"Well, you should really thank Juice." Wesley humbly insisted. "By the way, did you know that these guys are Elementals and Shifter's really a Shape-_shifter_?"

Dora glanced at the Ultimen for a brief moment, and then turned back to Wesley. "Why, yes I did." She replied. "Dani had told me. You Ultimen truly _are _quite remarkable."

The Ultimen all looked away slightly and chuckled with embarrassment. Once they recovered, Wind Dragon spoke up. "Thanks, Dora, but speaking of which," he paused to scan his surroundings. "Where's Dani?"

"After she completed her task, she decided to wander the camp to see who else she could assist." Dora paused for a moment to breathe a deep sigh. "Bless her heart; she's always so desperate to help people."

"Oh, really?" asked Dragon.

"Oh yes. Dani is the most proactive volunteer I've ever worked with." Dora revealed. "She spends the majority of her free-time on these events."

"Wow," said Downpour, looking at his teammates. "And all _I_ wanted to do was sleep in."

Dora laughed. "Oh, do not be deterred; that's just who Dani is, and you are not obligated to follow in her footsteps. However, if you _are _interested in more volunteer opportunities, I am always available."

Downpour smiled at the queen's reassurance and nodded.

"Now, let's go find Dani, shall we?" Dora turned right as another food-handler was walking past her. "Do you have everything settled?"

"Huh?" said the handler. "Oh! Yeah, we're good. We're just about done and will start serving here in a second."

"Excellent." Dora smiled cheerfully. "I'll be right back."

As the handler nodded and returned to his task, Dora, Wesley, and the Ultimen stepped off in the opposite direction.

* * *

Travelling through the camp seemed more difficult as hundreds and hundreds lined up to receive their food. Dora, Wesley and the Ultimen had to travel in one single file line to prevent separation.

"Oh! Excuse me, excuse me! Your Majesty?" They stopped in their tracks when they noticed two men and a woman approaching them. The trio was panting _very _heavily and on each of their faces was the same distraught expression.

"What's the matter?" asked Dora, sounding concerned.

"It's...our daughter!" exclaimed the woman. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears. The man on her left, whom they guessed to be her husband, placed his hands on her shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze. "She's… she's missing." The woman continued.

All of the Ultimen widened their eyes in shock as they watched the woman began to take shorter and shorter breaths. Her husband squeezed her harder in order to keep her upright.

"Alright, I need you to relax; take slow, steady breaths." Dora instructed; her voice suddenly became firm. "Where did you last see her?"

In response, the couple turned to the man on their right, who refused to look the queen in the eye and seemed completely mortified. "I was with her when we went to edge of camp," he revealed. "We wanted to see the city, or what remains of it, and when I turned back around she was gone."

"Is it possible she went outside the camp and headed back into the city?" Wesley asked Dora.

The queen narrowed her eyes before answering. "It's a... possibly."

"Oh, _god!_" the woman finally lost her grip and the tears began to stream down her eyes. Her hands jumped to her mouth in a desperate attempt to cover her sobs.

In the back to the group, the Ultimen exchanged looks with one another. They realized searching the entire city for one lost girl would undoubtedly be time consuming, but there was a way for them to make the search easier. At that moment, Shifter locked eyes with Wind Dragon, who gave a distinct nod.

She returned the gesture and turned her gaze up to the sky. "Eagle." She said. Once she spoke, Shifter's figures began to change; her entire body began to shrink. Her skin became white feathers, and her arms became a set of wide wings.

When Shifter's transformation was complete, she flapped down hard and shot upwards into the sky. It took just a little over a second for her to become nothing a single dot in amongst the sea of white and blue.

Wind Dragon, who had previously watched his teammate take to the sky, turned back to the mother standing before him. "My teammate is surveying the city for your daughter, Ma'am." He assured. "We'll find her."

To his slight disappointment, the woman did not seem to hear him, she merely kept looking at the sky above, most likely waiting for Shifter to reappear. However, when he turned to look at Dora, he saw the queen smile and nod approvingly.

* * *

After what seemed like forever, Shifter made her descend back towards them, changing back to her normal self the second before landing. "I found her." While her news was like a breath of fresh air, but her gloomy expression told the group that there was more. "She seemed to be… just sitting somewhere."

"My baby needs me!" The woman squealed, and if her husband's hand had not been holding her, she would've made a break for it.

"No, no, darling!" He tried to keep his grip around his wife, but her thrashing was making it near impossible. "It's too dangerous out there."

The woman reeled around at her husband with a mixture of rage and disbelief. "Are you _MAD?_" she shrieked. "Our daughter is out there! All alone! We have to-"

"Your husband is right." Dora interrupted. "My Guardians and I will handle this and return your daughter to you."

"But…" the woman looked like she wanted to scream to the heavens, but instead she hung her head and resumed sobbing. "Just bring her back, p-please."

"I promise." Dora replied with a reassuring smile, and then, her face became seriously again as she turned back to Wesley and the Ultimen. "Wesley, I need you to stay with them."

"Roger that," confirmed Wesley.

"As for the rest of you," Dora turned to the Ultimen. "Shifter, lead the way."

"Got it."

With that, she morphed into an eagle once more and shot off. Soon after, Dora herself took to the sky, and the speed at which she did so surprised the remaining Ultimen on the ground. When the surprise wore off however, Wind Dragon lifted his arms and large gusts of wind began to swirl around his, Downpour's, and Juice's feet. Upon reaching maximum velocity, the wind turned into a fast-swirling tornado and lifted the three Ultimen right off the ground.

* * *

Thanks to Shifter's early scouting, and honestly a small bit of luck, Dora and the Ultimen were able to reach the couple's daughter in relatively short time. The little girl, no more than five or six years old, was currently sitting on a long wooden bench, hanging her head and sobbing uncontrollably.

While the group was glad to find the girl before anything could have happened, they also discovered that she had not been alone, and it was someone they never expected to see.

"Hey, guys," said the cheerful voice of Dani Fenton. "Glad you could join us."

Sitting on Dani's left was Cujo, who was positively beaming at the newcomers.

"Why didn't you say Dani was here?" Downpour demanded from his sister. "We could have set that family at ease from the _beginning_."

His twin sister was appalled. "She wasn't there when I flew over." She argued. "She must've showed up right as I left."

Dani let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, sorry. I literally _just _got here."

"Just _what _exactly are you doing out here?" asked Dora. While she did not sound angry, there were still hints of annoyance in her tone.

"I wanted to see the city." Dani explained. "Just to get a view of how bad the earthquake really was."

"Excuse me, Dani." Wind Dragon spoke up. "But we really oughta get the girl back to her folks."

Dani nodded. "You're right… but first I wanna hear her explanation."

"To what exactly?" asked Downpour impatiently.

The Halfa turned to look at the male twin. "Why she came back to the city. There _has _to be a reason." With that said, she leaned forward slightly to get a better look at the little girl's face.

"Are you ready to talk?" asked the Halfa in a soft tone. "How 'about we start with your name, hm?"

The little girl ran the back of her hand over both her eyelids before lifting them, revealing a pair of aquamarine eyes. "My name's-" she stopped to take a sniff. "My name's Tabitha."

"That's a lovely name, Tabitha." Dani complimented. "Now can you tell me why you ran here and away from your family?"

"Because I-I…" Fresh tears began leaking from Tabitha's eyes again. "I want to get home, but I got lost."

Dani paused and turned to her colleagues, and while the Ultimen did not budge, Dora slowly knelt down and came face to face with Tabitha. "Sweetheart, I know things seem be difficult at the moment, but it really is safer back at the camp, with your family."

"And they're worried sick about you," Wind Dragon added.

"…But I have to find Mr. Fluffy Bear!" exclaimed Tabitha.

"Who?" Downpour asked.

"My teddy; I left him at home while we were running away."

Upon hearing that, Wind Dragon had to turn around to hide his disbelief. Dani remained silent next to Tabitha, subconsciously tapping her chin deep in thought.

"Even so, this place is too dangerous for a little girl," said Dora. "Tell you what: why don't we get you back to you parents, and then I will go look for him."

Surprisingly, Tabitha glared the queen. "_No._" She declared. "I'm not leaving till I _find_ Mr. Fluffy Bear!"

Dora sighed.

"…Stubborn kid." Downpour mumbled. Thankfully, no one other than his sister heard him.

"What does he look like, Tabitha?" Dani questioned suddenly.

The little girl turned to the Halfa. "He wears a red bowtie; it's a special bowtie, I gave it to him for Christmas."

"Huh," said Dani, "what do you know?" she reached into her hoodie pocket, and then to everyone's utter amazement, pulled out a rather tattered looking teddy bear. "Is this him?"

Tabitha blinked. Then she gasped as her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Mr. Fluffy Bear!" She shrieked before snatching the bear out of Dani's hand, and squeezing it with her tiny arms.

Dani could not help but laugh at the little girl's excitement. "I found him next to a pile of rubble." She explained. "He seemed really sad and lonely."

Once Tabitha felt she had squeezed Mr. Fluffy Bear enough, she gave it a good look and frowned. "Oh, no, he's going to need to see the doctor too." Using her fingers, she desperately tried to push the loose stuffing back inside Mr. Fluffy Bear.

"I think Queen Dora can get him taken care of." Dani assured, turned to her fellow Guardian. "Right, Dora?"

The queen blinked, and cleared her throat. "Oh, yes." She answered. "I will _personally_ see to it that he receives treatment."

"Really? Yay!" Tabitha exclaimed with the brightest of smiles. Then without warning, she flew off the bench and flung her arms around Dora, much to the latter's surprise. Dani beamed at the scene in front of her and even the Ultimen felt their hearts flutter inside their chests.

"Thank you!" Tabitha said as she broke off her hug with Dora. She turned back to beam up at Dani. "And thank you for saving him."

"You are very welcome." Dani replied.

"You wanna know something?" asked Tabitha as she looked over Dani, Dora, and the Ultimen. "My uncle doesn't like you Guardians all too much; he said whenever Guardians show up it means nothing but trouble."

This time, she was met with silence. Tabitha's statement had caught them completely by surprise, but now that the Ultimen were think about it, they finally understood why the man from earlier could not bear to look at them. It was not just because he was ashamed of losing sight of his niece, but also because he had to asked the people he disliked for help.

_Talk about irony…_

"…Well, Tabitha…" Dani began. "What do _you _think about the Guardians?"

In response, Tabitha scrunched her face in concentration. "I think…" she replied slowly. "I think it's baloney! You're here to help people! That's what you do."

Dani smiled once more and her eyes suddenly became glossy, almost as though the little girl's innocence had brought the Halfa to the brink of tears. Slowly, the Halfa slipped off the bench and pulled Tabitha into a firm hug.

"Thank you Tabitha." She whispered. "And we'll _always _be here to-"

Just then, Dani let out a sharp gasp and a trail of blue vapor streamed out of her mouth. The Ultimen raised their eyebrows in confusion, but Dora completely understood what the vapor meant.

"Dani," She said firmly as she shot back to her feet.

"I know," replied the Halfa, "_ghosts._"

In response, the Ultimen quickly scanned their surrounds, but saw nothing resembling a ghost in the deserted street.

"I don't see anything," said Wind Dragon. His teammates muttered something along those lines as well.

"Doesn't mean they're not there," Right as Dani said it; Cujo sprang off the bench and landed directly before them. As the puppy glared down the street, he stiffened his posture and his tail began wagging like a flag in the wind. Then, arching his back, Cujo unleashed a barrage of barks that seemed to resonant through the entire city block.

Then from somewhere down the street, a booming sound blasted through the air. The entire street shook as a building exploded into a pile of dust and rubble. In one shift motion, Dani jumped to her feet and held a screaming Tabitha tight against her body as she and the rest her group braced themselves for whatever had caused the disturbance.

"Holy mother of-!" Dani heard Downpour yell in shock. She too felt her breath hitch in her throat when her eyes fell onto the giant monster before her. It was insanely muscular with thick red fur covering its gray skin. Its lower body consisted of a long, scaly tail, like a serpent's. On its face were a pair of soulless black eyes with red pupils and a set of pointy teeth with two giant protruding fangs. As if those were not bad enough, the creature had not one, not two… but _four _equally massive arms.

"B-Behemoth?" Dani finally exhaled. "What the heck is _he _doing here?"

"Wait!" Wind Dragon rounded to her. "That _thing _has a name."

"Behemoth's not his real name," corrected the Halfa. "Just the one that stuck."

Behemoth opened his mouth as if to roar again, but before any sound came out, blue sparks began shooting out from his neck. The monster's eyes seemed to budge, and the he let out a screech loud enough to shatter the windows on the surrounding buildings. Tabitha let out another terrified scream and burrowed her face back into Dani's chest.

The electricity around Behemoth's neck finally subsided a few seconds later, and his limbs fell limply to his sides.

"What the _heck _is going on?" screamed a distraught Downpour.

"Dani!" Dora said suddenly. When the Halfa turned to look at her, she pointed at Behemoth. "Look; around his neck."

In response, Dani squinted and followed the queen's direction. However, instead of seeing more red fur on Behemoth's neck, she saw a white metal collar with glowing circuitry.

"Aw, great," murmured Dani. "GI-dub…" Before she could finish, she saw a barrage of blue energy beams fly right past Behemoth and head straight for them!

"MOVE!" screamed the Halfa. With a great deal of strength, Dani hopped back backwards just as the beams slammed onto the road. Fortunately, she saw Cujo land before her and the rest of her group beside her in her peripheral vision.

"Mm…Maybe we _should _have gotten closer before taking the shot," said a new voice as two men appeared out of nowhere floating above the group. Both of them were wearing the same white armored suit that had wings attached to the back to sustain their flight.

The man on the left, a Caucasian with thick black eyebrows, peered at his colleague through his triangular sunglasses. "What do you think, Operative N?"

"Agreed, Operative C," said the second man, who was also Caucasian but with a thick beard and mustache, replied. "But that's all in the past; we'll have to adjust accordingly."

"And just _what _are you GIW doing here?" demanded Dani.

"GIW?" muttered Wind Dragon, looking from the Halfa to the two men. "Wait! I remember now!" he paused to point at the operatives. "You're the Guys in White; a bunch of pro-human terrorists."

"Watch your tone, young man." snarled Operative C. "We _are_ pro-human, but we _are not _terrorists."

Dani let out a loud scoff. "Are you really gonna sell us that lie?" she asked. "After you just blatantly _attacked us_?"

"Not to mention you endangered the life of an innocent little girl." Dora added heatedly.

"That was not our intention; we've already caught our quarry," said Operative N, gesturing at the Behemoth, who turned his head to growl at him. "You two are the bonuses."

"What about the dog? And the kids?" asked his partner.

"_KIDS?_" roared the Ultimen.

Operative N ignored them. "If we can take them it'll still be a plus, but my main focus are the Guardian Councilors."

"Yeah, good luck with that." Dani sneered sarcastically. Then, she looked over to Dora. "Dora, you need to get Tabitha outta here."

The queen turned to her, looking concerned.

"We can handle them" assured the Halfa. "You need to get back to camp and warn everyone."

"Right… you're right," Dora agreed.

In one swift motion, the queen took the little girl into her arms and shot high into the air.

"Oh no, you don't!" yelled Operative C. He reached for his belt and pulled his gun out from its holster. With a click of a button, the gun extended into a rifle with a high-powered scope.

Right as the operative aimed his weapon on Dora; Dani fired two green energy beams at the GIW. The first one blasted the rifle out of Operative C's hands, but Operative N was able to see the second beam and swerve to avoid it.

"Leave them alone!" declared the Halfa. In a flash of light, a white ring appeared around her midsection before splitting into two. When they vanished again, Dani had fully changed into her ghost alter ego. "Your fight is with _us_."

"Alright, _fine_." Operative N retorted. "I was itching to begin anyway." He turned his gaze to Behemoth. "Get them, you smelly creature!" He raised his wrist, and at the same time, pressed a button located on his silver watch.

Behemoth instantly let out another wretched scream as his collar surged and tormented him. However, barely a second later, the monster set his eyes on the group charged straight at them.

"Cujo," Dani said quickly. The puppy turned to the Halfa, who pointed a finger towards the incoming threat. "Sic 'im!"

At Dani's command, Cujo furrowed his brow at Behemoth, and with flashes in his eyes, he rushed forward to meet his opponent. When the two of them were a few yards apart, Cujo's body began to glow as his form began to change. The reds in his pupils expanded to fill both of his eyes, his snout become more rigid, and his entire body grew to the size of a semi-truck.

The Ultimen watched in amazement as the monstrous version of Cujo slammed into Behemoth and drove him back. They then noticed the latter using his giant teeth to clamp down on the former's shoulder, causing him to roar in agony. The two monsters slammed right through the wall of a nearby building, causing it to shake from the impact.

"The rest of you!" Dani's voice came into the Ultimen's ears and they turned to look at her. "Go and help Cujo."

"I think Cujo will do just fine on his own." Downpour argued.

Dani gave them a firm look. "While I agree with you," she replied. "I need _you _to get that collar off Behemoth."

Each Ultiman raised their eyebrows at the realization. Encouraged by this, Dani pressed on, "Training's over, guys; _this_ is the real deal!"

After a quick exchange of looks, the Ultimen gave Dani firm nods before running to where they last saw Cujo; Shifter had transformed into a rhino and steadily made her way to the front.

* * *

With her delegation complete, Dani rose into the air until she was level with the two GIWs. For several seconds, they merely glared into each other's eyes.

"Nice display of leadership." Operative N complimented, albeit with a rather snarky tone.

"But _that _won't help you against us." Operative C alleged.

Dani ignored their remarks and moved into a fighting stance. "Are you two gonna keep boring me all day?" she smirked. "Or are you gonna show me what you got?"

Operative C snarled at the Halfa. "I'll show you what I got!" He leaned his body forward and shot straight at Dani and with a loud grunt, threw a punch at her head.

Dani was completely impassive as she turned her body to the side and avoided the speeding man. In one swift motion, she grabbed hold of his suit's wings and began spinning him like a tornado; gaining more and more speed with each revolution. When the Halfa finally did let go of Operative C, she heard the GIW let out a long, drawn scream as the momentum carried him somewhere further into the city.

With one opponent out of the way, Dani shifted her focus to Operative N. Given that his mouth was hiding under his beard and mustache, N's expressions were harder to read. One thing the Halfa did notice however, was that his eyebrows were almost completely vertical.

"I hope _you_ can do better," Dani jabbed. On the outside, she was holding onto her serious expression, but on the inside, she was reeling from N's frustration.

"Oh, trust me," retorted Operative N, "I'm not as impulsive as my partner."

At his last word, Dani heard his suit make a loud clicking noise, and then she found herself staring at about twenty or so glowing gun barrels. Dani did not even have time to blink before the barrage of missiles hurled themselves at her. Reacting purely on instinct, she channeled her energy into her foot and swung her leg hard through the air. The energy she channeled turned into a solid, semi-circular wave. There was a spectacular explosion when the two attacks collided with one another, and then everything was blocked out by a huge black cloud.

Dani took this moment to contemplate her next move. Before she could come up with anything solid, she saw Operative N burst from the cloud with his gloved fist extended. When she judged him to be about an inch away, she swatted his fist away with her right hand, and then followed up by swinging her left.

Alas, the Halfa found no satisfaction with her attack as N leaned his head back right before impact. For the next few, tense seconds, both of them exchanged an impressive flurry of blows. Eventually, Dani managed to win out by hooking her arms around N's neck and bringing his upper body down hard onto her incoming knee. She hit him squarely in the midsection and found herself smirking inwardly when she heard the prominent grunt of pain rush out of the operative's mouth. Not wanting to lay off the pressure, she landed two more knee strikes before the man finally wised up and blocked the third strike with his forearms.

Dani let out her own grunt when she felt N's fist slam against her stomach. The feeling of the blow was by no means foreign, but the force of the impact still caused her to react in pain. Fortunately, she was able to channel that pain into something she could use. Before Operative N could react, she grabbed onto his suit's wings and spun him around so his face faced the sky. N barely had time to raise his eyebrows before Dani's fist collided with his helmet. The punch did not stop there; Dani had channeled her energy into her fist and then allowed it to explode upon impact with N's head. The blow sent the operative spiraling downwards at near terminal velocity. Dani heard a loud _thud _as N crashed onto the roof of a building, kicking up dust that eventually shrouded him from sight.

A rustle in the air made its way into Dani's ear. In the blink of an eye, Dani raised her arm at a right angle and felt her knuckles collide hard onto something solid. She heard a shout of pain as Operative C reappeared from out of nowhere.

"How-how did you know?" He demanded as he clutched his nose and checked to if it was broken. Dani did not answer. Instead, she grabbed C by his front and heaved him downward towards the same building his partner crashed onto just moments before.

* * *

The Ultimen eventually found Cujo doing his best to pin Behemoth against the side of a building. They watched from a nearby rooftop as the massive dog clutched onto one of the ghost's arms with his fangs and wriggled his head as though he intended to rip the arm right out of its socket.

"So what's the plan, Dragon?" Downpour asked.

Wind Dragon thought for a moment. It was clear to him what they needed to accomplished, but he was wary about stepping into a monster battle.

"Wait," said Shifter suddenly, "I wanna see if I could calm him down first."

Her teammates stared at her with the same wide-eyed expression; she might as well have announced she was getting her head shaved.

"Look, he's just an innocent creature that's being manipulated," Shifter continued, "and I think we all know what that's like, right?"

Dragon, Downpour, and Juice all looked at one another; their eyes reflected the truth in Shifter's words. "I just don't like it, Sis." Downpour remarked. "What if something goes wrong?"

Shifter looked firmly at her brother. "Then I'll depend on you three to back me up," she replied. She turned to Juice and Wind Dragon, the latter of whom gave her a firm nod.

"Go," The leader said confidently, "things get shaky; we'll be there."

"Be careful, 'kay, Sis?" Downpour emphasized.

Shifter turned back to him and smiled. "Don't you go soft on me, Brother." She quipped. "I'm tougher then I look."

Downpour let out a soft chuckle and winked.

Now with her sights on Behemoth, Shifter morphed into a bird and began her descent. When she landed, she was squarely in-between Cujo and Behemoth like a referee calling a fight.

"Cujo, wait," she said as she held her hands up.

The giant dog stared at her, looking utterly perplex, but when Shifter continued to gaze at him with hard-set eyes, he straightened up and became still.

After breathing a soft sigh, Shifter turned on the spot and braced herself for the challenge. To her partial relief, Behemoth had not moved from his spot either, but the glare he was giving her instantly got her heart racing.

"I-It's okay now, Behemoth." She said a little softer than she would have liked. "I'm here to help." She began inching her way towards the four-armed monster, all while keeping her arms up as a gesture of peace. "I know those Guys in White hurt you; made you do things you didn't wanna do."

Behemoth did not even give her a hint of acknowledgement. He merely stared with his large, furious eyes. Shifter's heart was pounding now, but she pushed past it and kept inching forward.

"Things are gonna be better now," she went on. "Once I get that collar off, you can go free and don't have to worry about the GIW anymore."

This time she saw Behemoth blink and she stopped instantly. She had no idea if that response was good or bad. Nevertheless, she got her answer within two seconds.

Behemoth raised all four of his fists and brought them down upon Shifter. The Ultiman's body utterly froze from shock and all she could do was release a soft gasp.

Something tugged hard on her back and she was lifted backwards right before Behemoth's fists slammed into the concrete. Jerking her head on either side, Shifter realized Cujo had saved her by clenching onto the back of her tracksuit with his surprisingly white teeth. The sight of him made her immediately exhale the breath she did not realize she was holding.

Unfortunately, her relief was cut short by another one of Behemoth's screeching roars. She turned her head swiftly to see the monster slithering his way towards her and Cujo.

The grip holding Shifter instantly vanished when Cujo opened his mouth. When she landed back on her feet, she watched Cujo take off to Behemoth head on. The dog slammed his front paws round on Behemoth's massive pectorals. The impact knocked Behemoth into the air and he smashed right into the base of a building. The structure shook violently for a second, and then collapsed into a cloud of dust.

"Shifter!"

Upon hearing her name, Shifter cocked her head to the side and saw her teammates standing directly behind her. Her brother was at the forefront and looked the most worried. "You alright, Sis?"

"Y-yeah," she breathed. In reality, most of her heart was still in her throat. "Why did he do that? Was it something I said?"

"Don't blame yourself," insisted Downpour as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He's right." Juice agreed. "Maybe he just didn't wanna listen to begin with."

"So, fighting is the _only _way." Downpour announced. Even though, deep down, they all knew it was the only feasible option; that did not make stomaching their task any easier.

"Agreed," Wind Dragon nodded.

Just then, Behemoth shot out of the dust cloud and resumed his charge towards Cujo.

"But this time, we'll do it together." Dragon continued rather quickly. "Downpour," He turned to the male twin, "you've got point."

Downpour gave his team leader a firm nod before bolting towards the scene. Once he was right next to Cujo, he clenched his hands into tight fists and glared at the incoming Behemoth.

"You tried to squash my sister." He muttered angrily. "I'll make you pay for that!"

With a loud grunt, he shot a torrent of water from his arms. The Ultiman's attack hit Behemoth right in the chest, where it then splattered the entire surrounding idea. Unfortunately, it did not seem to affect the monster in the slightest.

Downpour could not believe his eyes. He even squeezed them shut and reopened to make sure they were still working correctly. "Oh, come on!" He complained at the top of his voice. "First Aquaman, and now _you?_"

Behemoth merely responded with a roar. Cujo barked and leapt forward again, but Behemoth was ready for him, he caught the dog before he was able to bite him and then tossed him aside like a crumpled piece of paper, Cujo slammed into the side of another building, let out a loud yelp, and then slid to the ground, where he then stopped moving.

Downpour quickly racked his brain for a solution to his predicament. He knew he was not strong enough to affect Behemoth; what he needed was more power, more _water_. The answer seemed to come to him on a silver platter as his eyes honed in on a lone, yellow fire hydrant. Without any further delay, he stretched his hand out and took a deep breath.

Within a few seconds, the hydrant began vibrating. The frequency kept increasing until finally, the metal casing broke off and a towering stream of water shot out of ground like a geyser. As Downpour felt the droplets of cool water land on his skin, he quirked his lips into a small smirk and set his sights on Behemoth.

"Flood!" He extended his right hand and willed the tower of water to curve in the air and barrel onto Behemoth with full force. For the next thirty seconds or so, the monster seemed to disappear underneath the rush of water. Finally, as curiosity and possibly a little hope set in, Downpour lowered his hand. All the water fell back onto the ground, covering the entire block with a thin layer of water.

When he saw Behemoth, he felt his heart sink to the deepest pits of his stomach. For Downpour's attack did not blow the monster away as he hope originally hoped. Instead, Behemoth had dug his claw-like nails into the concrete to save himself. Now with the water gone, the monster released his grip and rose back to his fullest height.

"Oh, that's just not fair," muttered Downpour with a hint of defeat.

Behemoth roared and then charged once again. Unfortunately for Downpour, he was out of moves. All he could do was watch the monster come closer and close.

"Downpour, duck!"

The sound of his team leader's voice was enough to jolt him from his trance. Moving fast as he could, he dove straight to the ground; landing with a hard thud as his chest bounced on the concrete. Downpour tilted his head slightly upwards just in time to see two jets of air fly right over his head.

Wanting to get out of the way without exposing himself, Downpour resorted to low crawling his way to the side of the street.

* * *

Wind Dragon's attack hit Behemoth directly. Despite the monster's roar, the jets of air provided enough resistance to stall his advance. To Dragon's dismay, however, Behemoth was not giving up without a fight, and slowly pushing both himself and the air forward. Realizing that he needed to up the ante, Dragon curled his hands into fists and willed his windblasts to go even faster.

This time, the air managed to blow past Behemoth's entire body; encasing him at the heart of the typhoon. As the monster's fur whipped around in every direction, small white crystals began appearing into view. With each passing second, the crystals increased in size and slowly enveloped Behemoth's entire body. Then finally, the crystals grew into a massive block that left only the monster's head exposed.

Wind Dragon smirked internally at his handiwork, but if he had to be completely honest; trapping Behemoth in a block of ice seemed a little too easy.

Right as he finished with the thought, Dragon noticed a crack appear on the surface of Behemoth's prison. Then more and more cracks began appearing and eventually they all connected together like dots on paper.

"Oh, you've got to-" Before Wind Dragon could finish, the ice gave a soft crackle, and then the entire block exploded into minuscule fragments.

Reacting instinctively, Wind Dragon crossed his arms in front of his face. He felt the fragments sting his forearms upon contact, but did not feel any serious pain. When the sounds of shattering ice finally came to a halt, Dragon lowered his arms to survey the scene. Before he could make anything out, his eyes fell directly onto Behemoth, whom he realized must have moved while he himself was distracted.

The monster threw his fist downward, looking to squash Dragon with one fail swoop. The Ultiman, acting on instinct again, leapt out of the way. He saw the fist smash the road, but failed to see another flying right for him.

The fist hit Dragon with the force of speeding truck. All he could do was let out a loud cry before succumbing to unconsciousness.

"DRAGON!" Downpour cried desperately as he watched him fly limply through the air. Acting quickly, Downpour shifted his entire form into a stream of water, made his way through the street, and reemerged to catch Dragon before his could hit the ground. While he had no visible injuries, he was still out cold.

A noise made Downpour turn his gaze and he saw Behemoth making a rush for them again.

What both Downpour and Behemoth failed to see though, was a bolt of yellow lightning shoot out from a broken streetlamp. It whizzed and crackled through the air until it landed directly on Behemoth's head. Instantly, the monster stopped dead in his tracks and let out an agonized shriek. Downpour had to narrow his eyes into slits because the electric surges around Behemoth could practically cause blindness.

As Behemoth's shriek continued to resonate through the air, a concentrated surge of electricity appeared behind his head. In a flash, Juice emerged from the surge and dug his hands onto the collar around Behemoth's neck.

"Let's get this thing off," suggested the electric Ultiman, "but this is gonna hurt you _way _more than me." With that said, Juice poured even more electricity into the metal apparatus. The additional current and power caused the lights to double their brightness.

What's more, Behemoth let out an even louder shriek and began twisting his body back and forth in a desperate attempt to fling Juice off him. Juice grunted loudly, partly in shock but also in annoyance. Nevertheless, he kept his grip firmly locked around the collar. By now, smoke had begun to billow through the seams; followed quickly by bright yellow sparks. Finally, the entire collar gave an audience 'pop', and then every light on its surface faded into black.

Juice felt a rush of relief when he realized the tightness surrounding the collar had vanished, but then without warning, a great force made his body lurched to the side. A cry rushed out of the Ultiman's throat as he felt his body being pulled downward. Then, as quickly as that sensation came, he felt his body hit the solid concentrate.

Juice let out a slow groan and winced as he felt his back ache. Fortunately, judging from the pain he was feeling throughout the rest of his body, he realized that the fall did not any permanent damage.

Slowly, Juice worked his way up to rest on his elbows. It was then he realized his hand was clutching onto something. He raised his right hand to reveal the now open white collar. Its surface looked heavily damaged and was covered with black dust. Oddly enough, the prongs began retreating back into the collar, and now it resembled a box that could easily fit into a pocket.

Downpour widened his eyes when he noticed the collar in Juice's hand. Part of him wanted to shout with joy, but the wiser side of him made him turn his head back to Behemoth, who was still paralyzed from all the electricity Juice had channeled into his body.

_Okay, one problem solved, but that still leaves **him**. _Downpour thought quickly.

His next thought was to flood Behemoth again, but judging from how it went the first time, Downpour did not feel very assured by the thought at all.

No, what he and his team needed was a quick strike to finish Behemoth once and for all. He glanced over to where Cujo was, the dog had begun to stir but Downpour did not feel he would recover before Behemoth would. He needed a different option.

Just as the last thought entered his mind, Downpour noticed a shadow fly over on the concrete. The Ultiman immediately snapped his head up to the sky. He saw, just above the buildings off the street, a small, white bird flying around in a tight circle… directly over Behemoth.

"Shifter!" Downpour bellowed at the top of his lungs. "_NOW!_ "

There was silence for about a second, and the bird's flight was halted as it grew into a massive white Tyrannosaurus Rex. Shifter dropped like a stone and continued to gain velocity as gravity pull her back towards the ground. Behemoth raised his head and had just enough time to begin another roar when Shifter's entire being fell right on top of his head.

There was an earth-shattering crash. Clouds of dust and debris began flying in every direction. Downpour called out to his sister, but sadly, nothing called back. Desperate to see what happened, Downpour turned back to Wind Dragon, lifted him with his arms, and began lightly smacking his face.

"Dragon! Yo, Dragon!" He called out impatiently. "C'mon, come back!"

When Wind Dragon finally began to stir, Downpour ceased his smacking, but did not stop calling his name. Slowly, the Ultimen Leader's eyes fluttered open and gazed into Downpour's eyes.

"Good, you're back," said Downpour, "see that dust cloud over there?" He pointed down the street and Dragon followed. "I need you to clear it out! Shifter's in there and I need to-"

"Okay, _okay_. I got it." Wind Dragon interrupted, holding up his hands.

With Downpour's help, Dragon sat upright and extended his arm. Air rushed out of his palm and then quickly blew the dust away.

Without hesitation, Downpour got up and bolted to the impact zone. Upon reaching it, he realized Shifter's fall made a crater that was nearly five feet deep and ten feet diameter. However, what made Downpour smile was seeing his sister slowly rubbing the back to her head while she sat on top of a dozing Behemoth.

"D-did we win?" asked Shifter softly. Downpour did not answer immediately. Instead, he leapt into the crater, ran to her, and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Nice work, sis." Downpour congratulated as they broke apart. "You did it!"

His sister chuckled. "_Brother_, I think it's '_we _did it'." Downpour beamed at her and nodded. Then as if sharing a sixth sense, the twins turned to see Wind Dragon and Juice stand on the edge of the crater. Both of them had a few noticeable nicks, but the smiles on their faces showed that they were not bothered in the slightest.

What happened next caught the twins by complete surprise. Something wet and slimy ran over their bodies, soaking their clothes to their skin. As they examined themselves, they saw that they were covered in some sort of glowing green goop. Then a series of short pants made them turn their gaze. Standing on the other edge of the crater was Cujo, who was no longer massive or angry, but back to his small and cheerful self.

* * *

Dani gently lowered herself down to the roof as the two operatives scurried to their feet. At a glance, she could easily tell that their armor had sustained quite a bit of damage. To be perfectly honest though, she did not really care; she had _no _sympathy for who the GIW were or what they stood for.

"I'm gonna ask this _once_," she began firmly. "_What _were you planning to do with Behemoth?"

"What?" jabbed Operative C. "You think we're gonna just _tell _you?"

"C, _shut up_!" Operative N snarled through gritted teeth.

_So they **are **planning something. _ She thought. "Well, if you don't wanna talk willingly, fine." She said out loud. "I'll just… _make_ you."

She planted her back foot and shot off towards the GIWs. In the blink of an eye, she stopped directly before them and punched at Operative N in the cheek. Then without any delay, Dani swung her leg hard and felt her boot crash into Operative C's jaw. The latter had initially tried to resist the momentum of Dani's kick, but ultimately failed due to her having the superior position and strength. Dani turned her head back and forth between the two operatives as they skidded across the ground. Both of them were brought to an abrupt halt at the same time thanks to the low walls that surrounded the rooftop.

With her eyes locked firmly on the writhing N, Dani steadily made her way over, and then bent down just lower enough to stretch out her arm and lift the operative up by his front.

"Had enough?" she asked darkly as she glared into her eyes.

Operative N opened his mouth, but instead of words, Dani only heard the sound of gargling saliva. She knew what he was going to do the second before he did it. Grabbing him with her other arm, she tossed the operative over her shoulder, where he skidded once more across the roof and stop directly next to his partner.

"You and your whole group make me sick!" Dani snarled.

She began to approach them again, but when she was a few yards away, she stopped right in her tracks when she noticed both of them reach into their backs and throw something. At a glance, the objects looked like metal tennis balls, but the steady beeping lights told her one thing: grenades. On instinct, Dani clenched her entire body and felt the chill of intangibility come over her. She watched the grenades fly right through her body and land somewhere behind her. However, she did not have time to see where they landed as the two explosions happened almost immediately.

One thing Dani did find odd after the explosions was the fact that they seemed very tiny compared to other grenades. However, perhaps the two operatives just wanted to catch her by surprise while not blowing themselves up in the process.

Regardless, their attempt failed.

"You're gonna have to do a lot better than _that_." Dani declared, taking a step forward. "Now you are coming with me." As she stood directly above the two operatives, Dani bent down slightly and reached out to grab N by his front.

When she was about an inch away, she stopped, not because she wanted to, but because of…

_Pain…_

Pain, the worst kind imaginable hit Dani like a speeding train; she let out a loud cry as she felt her body burn from her skin all the way down to her bones. A second later, her muscles began to pulse and spasm as every nerve seemed to explode. Dani squeezed her eyes shut and collapsed, lying flat on her back as she continued to scream.

When she reopened them again, several things caught her eye. In the air above her were small, flat objects that were slowing descending in unpredictable wavy patterns. Their movements instantly made Dani think she was staring at falling leaves. However, even with pain signals overloading her brain, she knew this was not right; normal leaves were not _that _red... and they did not _glow._

It was then Dani figured out what those things were. The worst part of it all was her body utterly refused to let her do anything about them.

"So," Dani shifted her attention when she heard Operative C's snarky voice. Gritting her teeth to halt her screams, the Halfa rolled her eyes to see the operative kneeling next to her and smirking wickedly. His partner was standing directly next to him with a smile that was on par with C's.

"You've finally figured it out, huh, Fenton?" C continued. "Those grenades weren't filled with _just _explosives, but also-"

"_B-blood Blossoms,_" Dani interrupted through her teeth.

"How right you are, _Ghost,_" snarled Operative N.

In perfectly sync, both operatives reached into a compartment on their left leg and slowly pulled out a single flower with deep red pedals and nearly black stems. Then, they brought the flowers up to their noses and took in a deep breath as they twirled their hands in slow, tight circles.

After exhaling, C stood back up and turned to N. "Taking these from the garden before we left was a _great_ idea, don't you think, Operative N?"

N looked at his partner. "Agreed, Operative C," he replied.

Moving in unison again, they set their gaze back down to Dani, who was still trying her best to control her writhing and was gritting her teeth so tightly, the muscles in her jaw could give at any second. After another second, C and N extended their arms, and released their grip on the Blood Blossoms.

Dani could only watch the flowers fall through the air, and then land right on her chest, directly over her symbol. A new wave of fire rushed through her body, and this time accompanied by millions of tiny pins and needles. Dani's eyes shot out wide and her mouth snapped open as another wretched scream flew out of her throat and spread into the surrounding air.

* * *

On the other side of the city, Cujo's ears twitched and he turned his gaze towards the sound.

"Cujo?" asked Shifter. "What's the matter, buddy?"

Cujo did not seem to have heard her and kept staring out into space. Then without warning, he took off into a sprint, barking as loud as he could. Shifter called out to him again, but the dog did not stop, and a second later, he completely disappeared in a blink of an eye.

"What was that?" asked Downpour.

Shifter narrowed her eyes as she thought deeply about Cujo's sudden change in behavior. One second the dog seemed happy at their shared victory over Behemoth, but at the next second, his entire face became full of shock and fear. She also noticed that his ears kept twitching, so he had obviously heard something, but _what _exactly?

The answer came to her like a slap across the face. In a blink of an eye, she turned to her teammates. "It's Dani!" She exclaimed. "She's in trouble!"

Wind Dragon, Downpour, and Juice all widened their eyes. "A-are you sure, Sis?" asked Downpour.

Shifter responded with several frantic nods. "Y-yes! Why else would Cujo take off like that?"

"Then we gotta help her!" announced Wind Dragon. "Fly up ahead and find her; we'll follow."

Shifter nodded once more before setting her sights to the sky. She changed into a bird again and soared high over the city. Wind Dragon and Downpour kept their eyes firmly locked on her, but Juice had his eyes somewhere else.

"Wait!" he called out. Both of his teammates turned to him. "What about him?" He pointed down into the crater, where the unconscious Behemoth still laid.

Wind Dragon glanced away for a second, deep in thought. "Leave him there!" He said a moment later.

"Yeah, Dani's more important right now!" Downpour added.

Juice blinked, but then gave a firm nod.

With everything said and done, Wind Dragon raised his arms, and summoned a tornado underneath their feet to carry them through the air.

* * *

"You know, Operative C?" Operative N asked over Dani's frantic screams. "As much I love seeing her squirm; I believe we have a schedule to keep."

Operative C glanced at the Halfa, and then to his partner. "Alright then, I'll put the cuffs on her." He offered. As he crouched back down, the operative let out a wicked chuckle. "Imagine the look on everyone's face when they see _this_."

Dani could not resist as Operative C grabbed hold of her wrists and began restraining her. Despite her body being in complete agony, feelings of anger and fear still managed to process through the inner workings of her mind. The GIW were on the verge to taking her back to whatever hole they crawled out of, and she was almost certain they were going to humiliate her or even torture her… or _both_.

Then from out of nowhere, Dani felt a chill crawl throughout her body. It was quite a welcoming sensation as it provided instant relief to the burns she was feeling before. The chill eventually made its way up her throat and mouth, causing her to gasp sharply.

In all honesty, Dani had no idea what to make of her ghost-sense. If it was Behemoth she sensed, it would mean he managed to fight off Cujo and the Ultimen. On the other hand, if the ghost was Cujo, he would have no idea of the danger he was in for.

Nevertheless, the answer came to her in the form of a thunderous bark. Dani strained against the pain turned her head just in time to see her giant dog leap onto the other side of the roof.

"Oh, look Fenton! It's your loyal dog!" exclaimed Operative C mockingly.

Based on how hard Cujo was clenching the muscles in his face, Dani realized he looked just about ready to rip both GIW's heads off. If the situation were different, she would let Cujo loose, but right now… right now this was the worst place for him to be in.

"C-Cujo," said Dani, her voice shaky from all the pain. "…stay."

Cujo either ignored her or could not hear her strained voice. The dog let out another loud bark before taking a charge at full speed. Dani realized she only had one more chance, and was determined to make it count.

"CUJO! STAY!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Almost immediately, Cujo skidded to a halt and merely stared at her with his pupil-less eyes. Dani wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but before she could even think about exhaling, a bright-blue beam of energy blew past her field of vision. The beam hit Cujo directly in the chest and blasted him off his feet. The Halfa listened to her dog let out a loud yelp and watched in horror as he slammed against the edge of the roof. As Cujo laid there on his side, he gave one last twitch before reverting back into his smaller self and slipping into unconsciousness.

Dani whipped her head back around and saw Operative C standing with his arm extended, and attached to that arm was a smoking gun barrel. Rage began to boil inside Dani, numbing her to the effects of the Blood Blossoms. She rolled over to her hands and knees, and then started to make her way back onto her feet. "Y-you sons of-!" Before she could finish, she felt a boot hit her in the stomach, making her grunt loudly and plopped back to her side. What little strength she had mustered instantly vanished, and the pain hit her again with full force.

"DANI!" came Shifter's frantic voice.

Dani turned her head once again to see all four members of the Ultimen standing shoulder to shoulder; all of them looked completely shocked, but angry as well.

"So, now the rest of the lackeys are here." Operative C stated. Before anyone could react, he grabbed Dani by her front and hoisted both himself and her up to their feet. The Blood Blossoms were still close enough to subject Dani to constant pain. The operative wrapped his left arm tightly around the Halfa's neck, digging the crook of his elbow into her throat. "Get on the ground and surrender!" The Ultimen all blinked at his demand but did not move.

"DO IT!" Operative C screamed. To add to his threat, he raised his arm and pressed the gun barrel against Dani's temple; she could still feel the heat. "Or I'll blow her brains out!"

"Whoa, whoa! Hey!" bellowed Wind Dragon, holding out his hands. "Just take it easy, okay?"

"_I'm _the one giving the orders here!" C shouted back. "Now get on the ground! I won't say it again!"

One by one, the Ultimen turned their eyes to Dani, hoping to see some guidance. However, the Halfa only had her eyes on one Ultiman: Juice. The two of them locked eyes for about a second, and then Dani flicked hers to the side as subtly as she could. Juice paused in confusion before realizing the Halfa was looking at Operative C. When they met eyes again, he noticed Dani's eyes had become firm, and instructive.

Juice knew what he had to do.

"Alright, alright!" He exclaimed. When the others turned to him, he was already lowering himself. "We surrender." He added.

"Juice, what the heck are you doing?" Downpour demanded through gritted teeth.

Juice turned to his teammates with a firm look. "Guys, he'll kill Dani! I don't know 'bout you, but I'm not taking that risk." As he laid flat on his stomach, he widened his eyes at the rest of his team as if to say, "Get down now!"

The rest of Ultimen exchanged uneasy looks with one another, but in the end, they followed Juice and surrendered.

For a moment, Operative C merely stood rooted to the spot with an evil smirk tugging at his lips. Once he was done reveling at getting the Ultimen to surrender, he turned his head back to look at his partner.

"I think we should call back up," he suggested. "We're gonna have our hands full with all of… AHHHH!"

He was cut off abruptly when a yellow bolt of electricity shot out of the ground and collided with the armored plating of his suit. The operative's whole body seized up as his entire nervous system went haywire, causing his grip around Dani to slack.

The Halfa wasted no time and seized her window of opportunity. With great effort, she snapped her hand back, hitting her former captor directly on the face. Even though she heard Operative C grunt loudly in pain, it ultimately did not satisfy her. She drove her elbow into his midsection, causing him to gag and release her completely.

Unfortunately, while she was free from the GIW's clutches, her body was still overwhelmed with agony; the last two attacks were all she could muster in her current state. Wincing sharply, Dani sunk once more to her hands and knees.

"C, you freakin' idiot!" Operative N scolded as his partner stumbled backwards, and then fall onto his behind.

Wind Dragon realized he had a chance, and took it. Rising as fast as he could into a crouching position, the Ultiman extended his arm and shot a gust of wind towards Operative N. A crack could be heard as the wind tore past the sound barrier before hitting the GIW full in the face. The blow left the bearded operative in a daze, making him sway on his feet. As he began to lose his balance, Wind Dragon took another shot, this time the blow landed on the side of N's head.

Wind Dragon watched Operative N fall sideways and land on his stomach. The GIW did not move after his fall, but judging from the way his back continued to rise and fall, Wind Dragon knew he was only unconscious.

"Okay, we're clear!" He exclaimed, rising to his feet. His teammates quickly followed suit.

"Dani!" Shifter cried out. She broke into a full sprint. When she reached her, she crouched down next to the Halfa and placed her hands gingerly on her shoulders. "You okay? What's wrong?"

"…T-the flowers," Dani grunted. She gestured towards the Blossoms with her shaking head. "Get r-rid of t-them."

Shifter's eyes fell directly on the glowing flowers for a moment, and then turned to her team leader. "Dragon, blow those things away!" For clarity, she pointed at the two flowers as well as the petals that surrounded it. However, when Dragon blinked at her, she quickly added, "Do it! Can't you see those things are _hurting _her?"

Dragon widened his eyes and his mouth morphed into a silent "oh". Then, with a wave of his hand, the flowers were carried off the roof, and fell out of sight.

Almost instantly, Dani felt the pain vanish without a trace. Her mind was finally clear enough for her to focus. After breathing a sigh of relief, she slowly began returning to her feet. Shifter watched her intently in the off chance that she needed support. Thankfully, Dani did not.

"T-Thanks, you guys." Dani said with a smile. "I would've been a goner if it wasn't for all of you."

One by one, the Ultimen raised smiles of their own and nodded.

A groan from behind her made Dani's smile falter. She turned on the spot to see Operative C rub his head gingerly. Hatred boiled up again inside her as she glared at the GIW. Consequently, he must have felt the aura of that hatred, because he slowly tilted his head up at her, and swallow a huge gulp.

Dani took a step forward, but stopped when she felt her hand bump against her leg. She gazed down and saw the metal cuffs around her wrists.

"You need a hand with those?" Shifter asked.

Dani stared at her before grinning prominently. "I got it," She replied. Then, as she pulled her arms apart sharply, the chain link snapped as though they were made of glass instead of metal. "They were just standard handcuffs." She said when Shifter raised her eyebrows.

Now that she was free from her restrain, she continued stepping towards Operative C who, upon seeing the return of her hateful glare, began to shuffle backwards in a desperate attempt to escape. Sadly for him, he was nowhere near fast enough. Dani bent slightly down at her hips and snatched Operative C up by his front.

Dani raised her fist and looked ready to send it right between the operative's eyes, but the second before she did, he brought his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Wait, wait, wait!" he pleaded.

Dani had half a mind to just ignore him and knock him out. In the end, however, the Halfa decided to humor the GIW. "_What?_" she asked patiently.

There was a moment of silence as Dani did her best to gaze into Operative C's soul, which she doubted that he even had. "M-mercy?" he asked in a soft, terrified tone.

Dani narrowed her eyes. Then with a sharp tug, she brought C even closer to her face.

"You _shot _my dog." She whispered.

Operative C had enough time to raise his eyebrows before Dani's fist slammed into the center of his sunglasses.

The operative was unconscious before he even hit the ground.

Despite rendering the two operatives completely harmless, Dani thought it would be safer to restrain them. The Halfa extended her right hand, and shot out two thin energy beams from the tips of her first two fingers. The energy beams found their mark and pooled around both GIW's wrists.

After another second, Dani pulled her hand back, and admired her handiwork. She found herself staring at them for far longer than she had expected. It seemed painfully ironic that those two guys and their organization as a whole was represented by the color white, the representation of purity, when they had the audacity to attack an innocent animal.

At that thought, she turned away from the GIWs and began to make her way across the roof. Upon reaching the edge, she knelt down slowly, and examined Cujo's body. Her chest tightened as she tallied his injuries in her head. Fortunately, they did not appear to look serious, but she was going to have to bring Cujo to a medical center just to be sure.

With a slightly shaking hand, Dani stroked the top of Cujo's head. At the feeling of his owner's touch, Cujo's eyes fluttered open and for a moment, they merely gazed at one another.

"Good boy," Dani praised softly, "We'll get you looked at when we get back, okay? Then I'll give you a treat and your chew toy." Cujo's eyes seemed to sparkle at Dani's promise, but alas, fatigue seemed to get the better of him and his eyes closed once more. As steady as she could, Dani gently scooped her sleeping dog up and cradled him against her chest.

"Is he gonna be okay?" asked Wind Dragon as Dani regrouped with the team.

"He'll be fine," Dani assured, "just needs rest and a good vet."

"Man," said Downpour, drawing the word out into two syllables. "I just gotta say; Cujo here is an absolute _beast! _Both figuratively and literally."

"Downpour, quiet down," Shifter shushed sharply. "You'll wake him."

Downpour curled his lips inward in embarrassment while Dani let out a soft chuckle. "Oh, it'll be okay," she paused to steal a glance at Cujo, "he's far too tired to be woken up by- 'gasp'! "

Dani was cut off abruptly when her ghost-sense escaped her throat, and upon seeing the trail of vapor, the Ulitmen completely knew who was coming.

"It's Behemoth!" Juice exclaimed. "I knew just leaving him there was a _bad _idea."

"Quit your whining!" Downpour insisted. "We'll just have to-"

He was unable to end his sentence as a familiar, yet still terrifying roar pierced through the air. All of them winced as their ears vibrated far too much for their comfort. Even the once sleeping Cujo was jolted back into consciousness upon hearing the roar. Then one by one, they tilted their heads up and saw the monster Behemoth floating directly above them, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"Ugh, great," Shifter moaned. "Here we go again."

On one hand, all of the Ultimen looked completely exhausted, as though a decathlon's worth of fatigue had just suddenly crashed into their bodies. On the other hand, Dani took a step forward and gazed at Behemoth with her own impressive glare. "Behemoth! I am _so _not in the mood for you right now!" She barked. Her tone brought both shock and fear to the Ultimen. They had no idea that the Halfa still had that much energy in her system. However, the team was not so sure about her channeling her energy to tempt fate.

"Just go already!' Dani continued with her volume unchanged. "The collar's off. There's nothing here for you!"

At her last sentence, Behemoth's growl became more prominent, and then his eyes seemed to move to the different location. The movement was subtle, but Dani was still able to see it. The Halfa turned her head around in an attempt to following the monster's gaze. Based off her own sight, she went past the Ultimen and rested onto the two unconscious GIWs.

Dani whipped her head back around and looked up at Behemoth. "No, you can't have them." She said firmly. As much as she wanted to see Operatives C and N be subjected to more torment at the hands of Behemoth, she could not, in good conscience, allow it to happen; she was too good for that.

Sadly, Behemoth did not seem to agree, or even care. Dani noticed his chest was flexed so tightly she could easily see the strands of muscle underneath his gray skin. Clenching her jaw tightly, Dani slowly moved her eyes back to Behemoth's face. It was then she noticed something purple flickering in his open mouth.

"Wait, fire?" asked Shifter. "Is he gonna breathe _fire _at us?"

"H-he can do _that_?" demanded Downpour.

Before anyone else could answer the twins' questions, Behemoth's mouth seemed to open wider, causing the flames to flicker more violently. Dani realized it was only a matter of time before things got really, _really_, hot.

"All of you!" She yelled at the Ultimen. "Get behind me!"

Without hesitation, the team all huddled behind Dani. The Halfa swiftly extended her hand at an upward angle. Then she concentrated her energy and created a large glowing dome around herself, Cujo, and the Ultimen. As Dani continued to peer through her shield, Behemoth finally leaned forward and blew a jet of purple fire straight down at them.

Dani could only hope that her shield would be strong enough to hold.

* * *

Then, from out of nowhere, a massive, bright green jet of fire came in and engulfed both Behemoth and his own flames. After the wave had passed, Dani noticed that Behemoth was still where he was, only now there were black spots all over his fur and he looked completely confused. From behind her, Dani heard Shifter shriek, and quickly turned her head to investigate. All four Ultimen were staring off at something with eyes the size of saucers.

Dani turned to her head again, hoping to discover what the team was looking at. Immediately, her eyes fell onto a creature that looked three times bigger than Behemoth, had large, bright blue scales, four muscular legs, razor-sharp claws, and finally, on its back were a pair of giant bat-like wings.

"Dude!" shouted Wind Dragon, "that's a-a…"

"Dragon!" Downpour finished for him, sounding equally as loud. "A _real _dragon!"

There was a moment of silence as the Ultimen continued to gawk at the dragon. Unbeknownst to them, a grin had appeared on Dani's face.

* * *

The dragon growled and glared at Behemoth with its terrifying red eyes. With one hard flap of it wings, it closed the distance and loomed over the monster like some predator ready to devour its vastly smaller prey. For the first time, there was no more anger and contempt in Behemoth's eyes. Instead, there was only fear.

Slowly, the dragon craned its incredibly long neck downward until its snout was level with Behemoth's nose. The dragon opened its mouth, showing an assortment of large, white and sharp fangs, and moved it to form perfectly coherent words.

"This is _not _how you thank your liberators." The dragon spoke in a low and yet booming voice that echoed throughout the air. "Now, if you know what's good for you… _BE GONE!_" The roar of its last words had enough force to blow Behemoth's fur backwards, and the Ultimen were all sure they felt the ground shudder beneath them.

Behemoth blinked for a moment, and then he raised all of his arms and let out a terrified screech. As fast as he could, Behemoth turned on the spot and flew away from the dragon, and ultimately, from Dani, Cujo, and the Ultimen. All of them watched Behemoth flying further and further away, until they finally lost him beyond the clouds.

Dani breathed a huge sigh of relief, and released her hold on her shield. Although, despite said relief, the Halfa's mind was racing over everything that happened. Starting from the beginning, like what were the GIWs doing here? What were they hoping to accomplish by capturing Behemoth? Dani made sure to burn those questions into her mind so they could be ready the moment the interrogation began.

With the thought of Operatives C and N fresh in her mind, Dani glanced back to see that they had not moved from their previous position. In fact, the two operatives were still unconscious.

A tap on her shoulder made Dani shift her gaze; she saw the tip of Shifter's finger and quickly followed the length of her arm before looking into her eyes. However, the Ultiman did not look back at her. Instead, she kept her gaze up at the sky.

"Uh, Dani?" the female twin asked softly. "What about…?"

Dani looked at each Ultiman for a brief moment before looking back up at the dragon. To the team's utter surprise, the Halfa actually spoke to the giant creature.

"I think you can relax now." Dani announced in her usual friendly tone. "Besides, you're scaring my cadets."

The dragon turned its head, and met their eyes. Then, it flapped its wings once more, and slowly began descending towards them. The Ultimen did not know whether to be scared, confused, or a combination of the two. Nevertheless, the dragon descended to the edge of the building, where it remained hovering in the air.

A flash of light seemed to bounce off the dragon's neck and make its way into the Ultimen's eyes. The team then noticed the large golden necklace around the creature's neck, and hanging on the center was a bright green, circular-shaped jewel. The Ultimen found the necklace to be very peculiar; what kind of giant creature would feel the need to accessorize?

As the thought ran through the heads of each Ultiman, the jewel began to glow, enveloping it in a blue, flickering aura. Not long after, the aura expanded to fill the length of the dragon's body. Then, the dragon started to shrink, but not just that, its tail, wings, and horns all began to retract back into its body. The dragon's snout was losing its rigid shape, and instead was becoming more rounded and smooth.

Eventually the aura faded from sight and the glow on the jewel dimmed before extinguishing completely. The Ultimen stared at the dragon's new form of a moment, and then felt their jaws drop to the floor.

They were staring into the eyes… of Queen Dorathea.

"DORA?" All the Ultimen asked simultaneously.

The queen merely grinned before making her way towards them. "Yes," she said. "I am terribly sorry for frightening you."

Questions began rushing out of the Ultimen's mouths like a flood. They ranged from "How did you do that?", or "How are you a dragon?", and "Why didn't you tell us?" Alas, the queen could wrap her mind around one question. She glanced down and cupped the green jewel in her hand. Strangely, the necklace holding it in place appeared to have shrunken to fit her neck better.

"This is the Amulet of Aragon," said the queen. "It's been passed in my family for generations." She paused to look back at the Ultimen. "The Amulet grants me the powers to protect, but it can be very dangerous if used improperly."

Wind Dragon, Downpour, Shifter and Juice all remained silent. The fact that Dora's alter ego was a medieval, fire-breathing giant must have overwhelmed them beyond expectations.

Dora frowned when she saw the countless nicks and scratches on their bodies at them. "Are you all alright?"

"Oh we're alright," Dani answered. She turned to the Ultimen for confirmation, and when they all nodded, she glanced down at Cujo, who fell back to sleep, "but Cujo here took a bad hit."

Dora's jaw dropped a little as she gasped. "What happened?"

Dani took a moment to explain everything that had happened. The queen widened her eyes when she heard about the Blood Blossoms, but Dani quickly set her back at ease by telling her about how the Ultimen came in just in time to deal the finishing blow.

"Honestly, I would've been a goner if they hadn't showed up," she turned and beamed at the Ultimen. "You guys did really well for your first assignment, and I really do mean that."

The Ultimen all looked away, their cheeks slightly pink.

"Uh, thanks," said Wind Dragon, rubbing the back of his head, "but we know we still have quite a ways to go; we _are _still cadets after all."

"Point taken," Dani shrugged before walking over and placing her hand on the Ultiman's shoulder, "but don't sell yourselves short; you all completed your task, against Behemoth no less. That's still a very considerable feat."

The team beamed at the Halfa once more, and then nodded one by one.

"By the way," Dani continued. "Do you still have the collar?"

In response, Dragon, Downpour and Shifter turned over to Juice, who was rummaging in his pocket.

"Um, here," Juice began as he revealed the charred device to Dani.

"Mm, may I?" Dani asked, stretching her hand. Juice handed the collar over without hesitation. Dani brought the collar up to her eyes, and turned it repeatedly as she examined every nook and cranny.

"What do you make of it?" asked Dora seriously.

Dani lowered the collar, and turned to the queen. "It's as I thought: it's one of those power dampening collars."

"Power-dampening?" echoed Downpour. "Oh! That's why he didn't breathe fire at us during our fight."

"You almost sound disappointed there," assured Shifter.

"Wha-no!" Her brother quickly objected. "I just realized, that's all."

Dani chuckled at the exchange. "You're right on the money, Downpour," she commended. "Think about it, wouldn't the GIW be stupid if they tried to restrain Behemoth when he has access to his powers?" She paused for a moment, and then turned to glare at the captive operatives across the roof. "Well," she resumed, "_stupider_."

As Dani said it, the Ultimen noticed a sense of contempt in her tone.

"We should take them back as prisoners." Dora suggested. "Therefore they could be interrogated before being sent to a trial for their crimes."

Dani nodded. "Yeah, we should definitely do that."

Without words, Wind Dragon turned to Downpour and Juice, who met his gaze almost immediately. Dragon twitched his head towards the direction of the GIWs, and his teammates nodded their understanding.

Together, Downpour and Juice made their way across the roof, and slung the limp operatives on their shoulders.

"Alright, let's head back," Dani address the group as a whole.

"After you," replied Dora, earning a light smirk from the Halfa.

* * *

As Dani, Dora, Cujo and the Ultimen made their descent at the refugee camp; they realized that there was a group of Guardians waiting for them, leading the pack was none other than Wesley.

"You're back!" he said, somewhat matter-of-factly. "Dora told me about Behemoth and the GIW. Did everything go okay?"

"Everything's fine, Wes," Dani replied, "How's Tabitha?"

"She's doing just fine too," said Wesley. "She and her family had quite a touching reunion."

Dani sighed in relief and nodded. "I need you to do something for me."

Wesley raised a curious eyebrow. "Oh? Like what?"

In answer, Dani handed him the collar. "I need you to head back to the Far Frozen and give this to Frostbite so he can examine and make a record of it."

"Alright," said Wesley, holding collar a little tighter. "You can count on me."

Dani nodded again before turning to the Guardians behind Wesley. "The rest of you," she jerked at thumb at Downpour and Juice's direction, "Take those _guys _away for questioning."

With nods and murmurs of acknowledgement, the Guardians made their way towards the two Ultimen, and took the GIW operatives off their shoulders. Two Guardians carried Operative N away by his arms and legs, but just before they could do the same with Operative C, he began to stir.

"Hold on," Dani said quickly. The Guardians obeyed, but kept a firm grip of C as he came back to consciousness.

"Welcome back," Dani greeted darkly.

Slowly, the GIW met her gaze. "S-so what, Fenton?" He jabbed, "you gonna gloat?"

"No," Dani smirked, "I already did that while you and your partner were knocked out."

"Yeah well, laugh it up while you can." Operative C advised. "You haven't seen the last of us!" At his last words, he attempted to struggle, but the two Guardians holding him seemed to be ready for it, and tighten their grip.

"Oh no, no, no," Dani contended, "that's where you're wrong, _Guy_." The Halfa took a step forward, and brought her face closer. "Look around you, you're surrounded by Guardians, and guess what; you're gonna be surrounded for a while. So, realistically speaking, it's really _you two _that haven't seen the last of _us_."

Silence loomed as Dani and Operative C stared at each other. After a minute that seemed like ten, Dani looked away, not because she could not look any longer, but rather she had no more desire _to_ look. The Guardians behind Operative C took this as a sign and firmly escorted the GIW away.

Finally, only Wesley remained. He too remained silent for a moment, but then he cleared his throat and spoke once more. "I um… I'll take this to Frostbite," he said, gesturing with the collar. "See you guys later." He started to leave, but paused when he caught sight of the Ultimen.

"Nice to meet you guys." He revealed. "And good job. I hope we could work together again, someday."

The Ultimen all nodded, but before any of them could say anything, Wesley jogged away, and disappeared in crowd.

"Dani," Dora addressed, prompting the Halfa to look at her, "we should give a report of what happened to the other Councilors."

Dani blinked before replying. "Okay, I'll send it when I get back to the Far Frozen."

Dora shook her head. "Dani," she said firmly, "I mean _right now_, via a conference."

"Seriously?" Dani asked, astonished. "Why? Can't I just send in a memo?"

Once again, Dora shook her head. "Because at the moment, the details are still fresh." The queen argued. "Not to mention, it prevents you from procrastinating."

Dani opened her mouth as if to argue, but then she closed her eyes and ran a hand over her face. "Oh, butter biscuits." She groaned under her breath. As her arm went back to supporting Cujo, the white rings reappeared around her midsection, turning her back into her human self.

"Now come along," Dora insisted, beckoning with her hand.

"Yeah, yeah, hang on." Dani replied impatiently. She then turned to address the Ultimen. "Look, why don't you guys just wait by the Specter Speeder? Hopefully the meeting won't be… too long."

"Um, sure," said Wind Dragon while his teammates shrugged.

Dani grin at the team, and stepped off with Dora.

* * *

"So guys," Shifter began as she pressed her back against the Speeder. "I wanna address the elephant in the room; are we still going to quit?"

Her teammates looked appalled at the question. "Why would you ask that?" asked Wind Dragon.

"Because you guys were all serious about it yesterday." Shifter answered. "I just wanted to know if you guys still think so."

Wind Dragon, Downpour, and Juice all looked at up another. Then the male twin wrapped an arm around his sister. "If it's all the same to you, Sis. I don't feel that way anymore."

"Me neither," said Juice.

"Same here," said Wind Dragon.

Shifter widened her eyes and turned from her brother, to Juice, and then to Wind Dragon. "Really?" she questioned.

"Well… yeah." Downpour shrugged. "I mean, look at what we accomplished today; we helped a bunch of people in need, rescued a little girl, and even beat our first ghost. Granted, he wasn't at his full power, but we still beat him. And you know what, we did it together, as a team."

"Adding on to that," Wind Dragon began, "if we can beat a giant ghost monster. Then we can easily get through Ember's training regime. We just have to remember what makes us strong in the first place."

"Which is working together." Juice summarized.

Wind Dragon and Downpour nodded in agreement. Shifter beamed at each of them, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. "Oh, you guys." She sniffed. "Come here." She wrapped one arm around Downpour and reach for Wind Dragon with the other. Then with a slight tug, she brought the three of them together.

"Alright, group hug." Downpour announced, "Juice, get in here." Both he and Wind Dragon used their spare arm and pulled their teammate into the embrace.

None of them spoke another word as they held on to one another. They payed zero attention to anything that transpired around. For in that moment, nothing mattered to them except each other.

Meanwhile, standing nearly fifty yards away, a certain Halfa was watching their embrace, grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

**Far Frozen Training Grounds (One day later)**

"So let me get this straight, Dani," said Ember heatedly in the middle of her stride. "You told them?"

Dani looked right into the ghost's eyes and frowned. "I didn't tell them the whole story, just subtle hints."

Ember clenched the muscles in her jaw, looking completely unconvinced. "You really shouldn't have told them _anything_ at all, Dani." She proclaimed. "That's _my_ business."

A noise coming from Ember's left made her turn her head around. Almost immediately, the guitarist ghost found herself staring Valerie Gray's impassive face. Her usual attire of black and red armor was currently nowhere to be seen. Instead, Valerie sported a thick winter coat, pants, and a pair of boots made from wool.

"To be fair, Em," said Valerie. "It's kinda hard _not_ to be curious about it when the name's written in plain sight." There was a pause as Valerie looked into Ember's dangerously narrowed eyes. However, she shrugged it off like it was nothing. "You can glare at me all you want, girl. It doesn't mean I'm wrong."

Ember huffed and turned her eyes back to the front.

The three women continued to follow the smooth concrete trail. After making a left turn, they entered their designated training area. However, Ember found herself raising an eyebrow when they realized it was already occupied… by the Ultimen.

"Huh, well would you look at that," said Valerie. With a flick of the wrist, she glanced at her watch. "They're early."

The three of them stood rooted to the spot, and watched the Ultimen conduct their stretches. Before long, Wind Dragon caught sight of them, and immediately gathered up his teammates. Ember began making her way towards the team as they all stood shoulder-to-shoulder, very reminiscent of a few days ago.

"We're ready to start," said Wind Dragon when Ember stood about a yard away.

The two stared at each other for another second before Ember finally spoke. "Last week you were all hating life." She divulged. "What changed?"

"We… We did some searching, and we figured we were going to stay and finish this." Dragon replied.

Ember looked over all of them, and found the same conviction in their eyes, expressions, and postures. "Well, isn't that convenient?" she asked. She turned back to look at Dani, who grinned and gave her a slightly shrug. After rolling her eyes back to the front, she began to pace back and forth in front of the Ultimen.

"First off, it's come to my attention that you're curious about the letter on my guitar." She disclosed rather quickly. "Well, I'm gonna put this debacle to rest right now." The Ultimen glanced at one another with anticipation on their faces. "If you're still thinking about it, _stop._" The anticipation on the team's faces turned in shock and confusion, but Ember ignored the change. "That's _my _business. So for the benefit of everyone, leave. It. Alone. Got it?"

The Ultimen all nodded.

"Secondly," Ember continued. "I heard about what you all did over this weekend," A slight grin appeared on each Ultiman's face. "But let tell you something; you were lucky." The grins all disappeared faster than they came. "That being said, that's why Dani, Valerie, and I are here; we're here to teach you to make your _own_ luck."

As if taking that last sentence as a cue, both Dani and Valerie gave a single wave with their hands. Shifter found herself wanting to wave back, but before she could act on the impulse, Ember spoke again.

"Before we do that though, we'll need an assessment."

The Ultimen exchanged looks once more, having no idea what the guitarist ghost meant. "W-What assessment?" Wind Dragon asked finally.

Ember stopped and stared at him. "Of your abilities," With that said, she gently floated off the ground, and flipped her guitar to her front. "I want you to come at me with everything you got, and don't hold back," she paused to look down at her instrument, and twisted one of the black knobs with her right hand. Then she turned back to the Ultimen, and did something they never though she would do. She actually raised a smirk. "Because _I _won't." she finished.

For a moment, the Ultimen all stared at the floating ghost. Then at Dragon's command, they all leapt backwards and dropped into fighting stances. Ember's smirk broadened as she raised her hand. In one swift motion, she brought it down hard, her fingers brushing against all six strings. A thunderous strum roared through the air. At the same time, much to the Ultimen's shock, a jet of red fire shot out of the body of guitar and made its way straight at them.

At that moment, one thing was abundantly clear; the _real _training had begun.

* * *

**A/N: I am going to be perfectly honest here. This chapter is sort of an apology; I realized I haven't incorporated many crossover elements, and I'm not gonna lie. It was fun digging into another universe. **

**That being said, the next chapter will return to Rachel and her continuing adventures with the Justice League.**

**If you have any comments or questions, I would like to read them.**

**Thank you and until next time.**


	25. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not have the ownership rights to the DC animated universe nor to Danny Phantom. Please support the official releases.**

**A/N: Thank you to Jaguarspot for looking over this chapter, it was awesome to know that this was one of your favorite episodes. Also thank you to Phantom-Thunder for the useful ideas. Last but not least, Thank you to all of you reader for support this story!**

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 16

**The Watchtower**

The door leading to the cafeteria opened with a loud hiss and Wonder Woman causally stepped inside. She stopped in her tracks and her eyes conducted a brief scan of the entire room. Alas, curiosity struck her when she was not able to find the Flash anywhere in the crowd. With one glance at the clock mounted on the wall, she realized she had in fact, arrived exactly at the time agreed upon by herself and the Scarlet Speedster. Perhaps it was necessary for Wonder Woman to remind the Flash – again– that being the 'Fastest Man Alive' does not translate to having good time management skills.

A whooshing sound rushed in from behind the Amazon, interrupting her train of thought. Without hesitation, she turned around, and saw Flash standing behind her, with his trademark toothy grin.

"Almost thought you weren't going to show," she began, grinning herself.

"Y-yeah, sorry about that," said the Flash, rubbing the back of his head. "I kinda got side-tracked."

"Is that so?" asked Wonder Woman, glancing back at the clock. "Well, realistically, you were only late by about twenty seconds."

"Oh, come now, Diana; you and I both know that's like a lifetime for me."

"True," Wonder Woman chuckled, and then turned to walk towards the serving area.

Together, the two founding Leaguers acquired their trays and began filling them. Wonder Woman managed to get everything she needed in one station. Flash, on the other hand, was moving in a blur to nearly every station in the cafeteria, quite literally piling everything available onto his tray.

Honestly, Wonder Woman did not blame the Flash for his grotesque eating habits. She knew, as well as understood, that his amazing ability for speed was also the very thing that burned through his body's energies in an alarmingly short time. Ultimately, she was just glad that the League was able to keep Flash satisfied.

"This was a great idea, Wally," she said as she placed her tray down on a table before taking a seat herself. "I can't remember the last time we've had a chance to catch up."

Flash nodded, and took a seat next to the Amazon. "Mostly my fault," he replied apologetically. "I've been pretty busy in Central City."

"I wanna hear all about it," encouraged Wonder Woman, "I saw some of it on the news, but it's not the same as-"

A presence in her peripheral vison made her words drift into nonexistence. As she tilted her head, she found her face falling into a deep frown at the sight of Shayera Hol.

Coincidentally, the Thanagarian seemed to be as displeased to see the Amazon as she had been with her. With firmly furrowed eyebrows, Shayera rounded on Flash. "Oh, _I'm sorry._" She began with a hint of sarcasm. "I thought _we _were having dinner tonight."

Flash blinked before responding. "Is it Tuesday? Silly me!" He paused to tap himself on the forehead. "Making dinner plans with two beautiful women on the same night."

Wonder Woman looked unconvinced. "…Uh huh."

Shayera looked from Flash to Wonder Woman for a moment, and then she turned on her heels. "We can do this another time." She declared. Before she was able to step off however, Flash suddenly got up and blocked her path.

"Don't be ridiculous, we can all have a meal together," advised the speedster as he placed a hand on Shayera's shoulder. As gently as he was willing, he guided Shayera back to the table, and sat her down directly opposite Wonder Woman. "It's a chance for us to get reacquainted; patch things up."

"Assuming we want to." Wonder Woman hissed under her breath.

Shayera heard her and narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Now _there's _an example of exactly the kind of thing that we're not gonna do anymore, _right_?" Flash inquired, gripping both women's shoulders. "I'm telling ya, once we clear the air; everybody's gonna be pals again." He shrugged as another thought came to him. "I always thought the reason you two don't get along was that you're so much alike."

"LIKE _HER?_" Both Wonder Woman and Shayera demanded at the same time.

Silence loomed over the three of them as the Flash looked between both women with a slightly flustered smile. Wonder Woman and Shayera gave each other one last glare, and then began digging into their meals. As they ate, both women were doing their best to ignore the other.

"You guys aren't even trying," Flash accused. "You can _at least _talk to each other."

Shayera jerked her eyes at the speedster, and then at the Amazon. "…The pasta's good." She remarked before taking another bite.

Wonder Woman did not repay the eye contact. "It's the sauce." She muttered.

Shayera went to take another bite, but then she breathed a sigh and put her fork down. "This isn't gonna work, is it?" she questioned.

"Not a chance." Wonder Woman answered immediately. With considerable speed, both women got up off their seats, and walked out of the cafeteria in opposite directions.

"Hey, where are you going? Come _on_." Flash demanded, getting off his seat as well. Unfortunately, neither Wonder Woman nor Shayera paid him any attention as they both exited the room in different directions. Flash hung his head and sighed. Then he was suddenly aware that the room had gotten too quiee. He whipped quickly and realized that every Leaguer in the room had given him their undivided attention.

At that moment, a part of him wanted to give into the embarrassment and run away, but another part of him thought of a better idea. Putting on his most convincing smile, he said. "He had dinner with two women at the same time." He paused to casually lean on the table. "'Cause I'm a _stud._"

A squishy sensation made him frown. When he set his gaze downward, he realized his entire hand was covered in whipped cream and frosting. He sighed once again and sunk back on his chair. Then, as he began to lick the toppings off his fingers, he thought about his failed plan.

_It wasn't supposed to go down like that. _Flash thought. _I just want everyone to get along. Was that too much to ask for? _

As he played the failure repeatedly in his head, he did notice one thing; at least they had both _agreed _that the dinner was a bad idea.

* * *

Beacon found herself caught in an internal debate as she wandered through the hall. On one side, she wanted to know if there were any missions available. While on the other, she wanted to take a seat somewhere and come up with a plan for her and Kara's inevitable second date.

To give Kara credit, she had not been nagging about the date, as Beacon feared she might. While the Halfa truly appreciated that, she knew that was not an excuse to slack on her promise.

With a spring in her step, Beacon rounded a corner, and found herself walking down another stretch of hallway. However, this time she realized she was not alone.

Walking a few paces in front of the Halfa was the ever-so-elegant Wonder Woman. "Diana… Diana! Wait up!" Beacon called out. The Amazon turned around curiously before greeting her with a smile.

"Hello, Rachel," she said warmly, "how are you?"

"I'm doing okay," Beacon replied, "but I have to admit I'm a bit surprised to see you. Weren't you having dinner with Flash?"

Wonder Woman's smile fell slightly. "Oh, well yes, I um... I lost my appetite."

Beacon raised a curious brow, and then wondered what could have possibly caused the Amazon to call off the dinner with the speedster. However, when she noticed Wonder Woman looking somewhat embarrassed, the Halfa decided not to push the subject further.

"Alright, so what are you up to now?" asked the Halfa.

Wonder Woman looked away for a second, her face deep in thought. "I'm… I'm thinking of just heading back to my room. Relax while I can, you know?"

Beacon nodded, she could relate completely. In the League's line of work, there could be periods where missions would literally come one right after the other. Therefore, in Beacon's humble opinion, one should take advantage of any available down time.

"What about you?" asked Wonder Woman, jarring Beacon out of her thoughts. "What are yougoing to do?"

"Oh, I was just on my way to the lounge." Beacon answered. "I gotta start planning for my next date with Kara."

"Speaking of which, where isKara?"

"She's in the Fortress with Superman." Beacon revealed. Then, she shrugged. "He thought it would be quality family-time."

Starting from last week, Kara had been accompanying the Man of Steel on more and more missions. When asked what had caused him to make such an arrangement, Superman told both his cousin and Beacon that he wanted to help the former further develop her Kryptonian powers. However, Beacon suspected him of a different motive. She suspected that the Man of Steel was making every effort he could to make up for the distance he put between himself and Kara.

Beacon strongly appreciated and respected Superman's efforts, but she was admittedly a little jealous. For the majority of the past few days, Superman got to spend more time with Kara than she did.

Thankfully, both Kara and herself had their date to look forward to.

"_AHH!_"

The scream came from Beacon and Wonder Woman's left. Turning their heads in perfect unison, they realized that they were looking into the infirmary, where the Martian Manhunter was trying his best to steady a writhing man. The Halfa and the Amazon exchanged looks. Then together, they leapt over the railing, and quickly made their way closer to the scene.

Almost immediately, Beacon could tell something was terribly wrong. The Manhunter was still trying his best to steady the man, whom the Halfa recognized as being Jason Blood. Unfortunately, no matter how hard J'onn tried, he could not stop Jason from squirming in complete agony.

"Etrigan, calm yourself!" J'onn insisted firmly. "Let me help you."

Jason did not respond to J'onn's words. Instead, he continued to writhe in agony as his entire body transformed into his demon self. "The gates of Tartarus swing both ways!" he announced. Beacon blinked at that statement. It was clear to her that Etrigan was trying to convey a message. Only, she had no idea what it meant. Before she could think any further, she noticed Etrigan turn back into Jason, and he spoke again. "The balance tips towards chaos." Jason let out a long, drawn-out grunt, and then he began to transform again. Only this time, he seemed to be caught halfway between his human self and his demon self.

Beacon continued to stare at Etrigan as J'onn carried him to a stretcher, and then restrained his wrists with the built-in shackles. However, the human-demon continued to writhe against the invisible torture.

Without another glance at Etrigan, J'onn exited the infirmary by phasing through the glass. Once he was through to the other side, Wonder Woman instantly began asking questions. "What's happening here?"

"I don't know," J'onn responded. "Suddenly all of our members with magical powers…" He paused to gesture to the other patients in the infirmary. "… well, you can see."

Beacon and Wonder Woman followed J'onn's indication. Lying directly next to Etirgan were Doctor Fate, and Zatanna. Both of them seemed to be suffering from the same torture.

"Z…" Beacon muttered under her breath.

As the magician continued to squirm, strange words began to flow out of her mouth. "Lla si tosl! …Tusaf tis no eht enort fo lleh!"

Again, Beacon realized she was telling her something, but what did they all mean? What was happening to cause these people so much pain?

As if mirroring her thoughts, Wonder Woman turned back to J'onn. "They're in agony! What can we do?"

The Martian turned and gave both women a firm look. "Echo and I are researching. As soon as we learn something I'll let you know." With that, J'onn turned and quickly stalked away.

Beacon turned back to look at Zatanna, and pressed her palms against the glass. "Hang in there, you guys." She whispered. She then turned to look at Wonder Woman, who had the same look of sadness and anxiety in her eyes. Beacon knew they both shared a special fondness for the magician. After all, she had a firm hand in the fight against Circe when she turned the Amazon into a pig.

"…Come on," Wonder Woman insisted before walking away as well.

Beacon nodded, and followed, but not before taking a last look at Zatanna.

* * *

"There _has _to be something we can do!" Beacon exclaimed.

Wonder Woman tilted her head down to meet her gaze. "I want to help them just as much as you, but perhaps the best thing to do right now is just be patient."

Beacon grimaced, and crossed her arms over her chest. "…Okay," she agreed reluctantly.

The Amazon wrapped her arm around Beacon and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Don't look so worried." She asserted. The Halfa tipped her head up and saw a smile on her lips. "They're all gonna be okay. We'll make _sure _of it." As though feeding off Wonder Woman's positivity, Beacon found herself smiling as well.

After another minute or so, they finally made their way to Wonder Woman's quarters. The Amazon placed her hand on the scanner, and the door opened with a hiss. The room was almost covered in complete darkness, save for the light coming through the large window that had a plain view of the Earth.

Both women stood rooted to the spot when they saw something move in the shadows. Beacon narrowed her eyes in an attempt to focus through the darkness, and she did manage to find some success. She was able to make out a silhouette of a human body lying on what she guessed was Wonder Woman's bed. By the look of the large chest and squared jaw, the Halfa guessed the body belonged to a man. Her eyes traveled up the man's jaw and stopped at the top of his head, where she noticed the outline of some sort hat with tips on the sides.

"_FLASH?_" Wonder Woman demanded. Beacon raised a curious brow upon hearing that name. She wondered why the speedster would randomly break into his teammate's room. Then again, he did seem the type to pull that sort of shenanigans.

"… No, no, it's the _original _speedster." The voice came from the man, and it did not belong to the Flash.

"Huh?" Beacon blurted out before she could suppress it. Beside her, Wonder Woman was just as confused. With a quick glance to the side, she located the light switch and flipped it. As a soft, white glow lit up the room; both Beacon and Wonder Woman finally saw who the mysterious man was. He was wearing a simple white tunic that was slung over just one shoulder, leaving half of his bare chest exposed. On his feet was a pair of leather sandals with feather-like wings attached at the heels. Lastly, the hat Beacon saw earlier turned out to be a golden helmet with a pair of wings.

The man locked eyes with Wonder Woman before taking a bite out of a half-eaten banana. "Hey, Diana," he addressed before glancing over at Beacon, "and Miss Robertson," he turned back to the Amazon, "I let myself in."

"Hermes!" Wonder Woman said quickly. She straightened her posture and gave the man a courteous bow. "How may I serve the Messenger of the Gods?" Beacon glanced from Wonder Woman to Hermes, not knowing if she should follow her example or simply remain still. In the end, she went with the latter.

Hermes' chuckle was barely audible as he got off Wonder Woman's bed and began making his way towards them. However, Beacon realized he had left his half-eaten banana behind. _Okay, apparently working for the Gods meant it's okay to litter_. She thought dryly.

"Don't be so formal, Diana." The sound of Hermes speaking again broke Beacon's train of thought. The Halfa glanced up to see him perk up Wonder Woman's chin. "You're practically a member of the family. Not that this is a _social _visit." He paused to look down and began to rummage through a large satchel filled with paper scrolls.

"I've got something for you," Hermes continued. "It's pretty important; Zeus paid for overnight service… Here it is." He picked one scroll out, and handed it to Wonder Woman, who immediately opened and read it.

"For a good time, call Podenemus…"

Hermes instantly let out a series of incoherent sounds, and then snatched the scroll from the Amazon's hands. "Wrong scroll!" He announced, stuffing it back into his satchel. "I think I got a shot; it's her _cell _number."

"Um, I hope everything works out for you?" Beacon asked hesitantly.

Hermes shifted his gaze to her, and gave her a warm smile. "Thanks. I just hope the Fates are looking out for me, y'know what I mean?"

"Uh… Sure," Beacon shrugged.

With that brief exchange, Hermes rummaged through his satchel one more time and pulled out another scroll. "Here we go," the Messenger remarked. He then opened it and began to read. "'By decree of Zeus, Father of Olympus, it is so ordered: Diana of Themyscira will travel to Tartarus, and set right that which has been disturbed.'" Hermes closed the scroll and returned it to his satchel.

There was a moment of silence as both Beacon and Wonder Woman thought about the message. Before the former could piece anything together, Wonder Woman spoke up. "He's telling me to go to-"

"Basically," Hermes interjected. "Felix Faust is on the loose again."

Wonder Woman frowned at the mention of the name. "Felix Faust is dead."

"Wait, remind me please, who's Felix Faust?" asked Beacon. The name sounded familiar, but the Halfa could not form a solid memory around it.

"Faust was a man that nearly released all the evil in Tartarus," informed Wonder Woman, "He turned my mother and sisters into statues." Beacon widened her eyes. This Faust person must have been very dangerous if he was able to defeat the Amazons.

"But fortunately, you and your friends were able to put an end to his scheme," praised Hermes, prompting both women to turn back to him. Then, he frowned and pulled out a third scroll. "But he's prettyupset about it." He opened the scroll, and began reading again. "His spirit possessed the weapon known as the Annihilator."

"The Annihilator?" echoed Beacon. "So _that's _what happened to it!"

"Yes," Hermes confirmed before continuing to read. "Once he had control of the weapon, he headed straight for the gates of Tartarus… I mean, _straight _for it… The Amazons did their best to stop him. They were good, but they were out of their weight class. Once inside, he went looking for Hades and took him off his throne." Beacon felt her heart sink. If everything she heard about the Annihilator was true, the Amazons never stood a chance, and apparently, neither did the God of the Underworld.

Just as she finished her thoughts, she heard a rustle of paper, and realized Hermes was putting the scroll back in his satchel. "Guess Faust's still torqued." He said. "Hades messed him over pretty good a few years back."

Wonder Woman narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "I was there."

Hermes nodded before turning and taking several steps away. "_And _you'll be there this time. You must defeat Faust and restore Hades to the throne of Tartarus."

The Amazon fought the urge to scoff. "So far as I'm concerned: they deserve each other." She jabbed. "Why should I care about this?"

"You mean, other than the direct-order-from-the-gods thing?" Hermes asked, turning back around. "Because there must always be balance between chaos and order, when there isn't…"

At that notion, Beacon gasped. "The magic-users!" Hermes flexed his index finger at her, as if to say, "bingo".

Wonder Woman's face fell as she too realized the severity of the situation, but once again, Hermes was there to tilt her chin up. "Need you to do the right thing," he stated with a smile, "and your friends are in good hands; yours." He beamed at both Beacon and Wonder Woman. Then, with a gust of wind, Hermes vanished.

"So," Beacon turned to Wonder Woman after a moment. "How should we go about doing this?"

Wonder Woman looked at her firmly, and then turned to approach the wall, where her sword and shield hung waiting. "Simple," she answered as she took the shield. "We go to Tartarus and deal with Faust."

"Um, not to burst your bubble, Diana," Beacon remarked, "but Faust is gonna be packing some serious heat! I think we might need more than swords, shields, and fisticuffs.

Beacon realized her words must have gotten through to Wonder Woman, because she paused right as she reached for her sword. After a moment of silence, the Amazon turned back to meet the Halfa's gaze.

"You have a point." She agreed, putting her shield back on the wall. Immediately following, she turned on her heels and quickly strolled out of her room. "Come on."

* * *

"So, where are we going?" asked the Halfa. "What do we need?"

"The Annihilator runs off of mystical energy." Wonder Woman told her while keeping her eyes up front. "We're going to need disrupt it if we want to defeat Faust."

Beacon blinked and nearly keeled over at the revelation. It all made sense, the perfect thing to use against the Annihilator was Shayera's Nth metal mace. "If that's the case," began Beacon, "Are we going to bring Shayera along?" A twinge of excitement began coursing through the Halfa; she had been itching to go on a mission with the Thanagarian ever since she came back to the League.

"No."

Wonder Woman's response caught Beacon completely off-guard.

Beacon stared at the Amazon with wide-open eyes. "What? Why not?" She exclaimed, admittedly a little louder that she'd liked.

"_Because, _we don't need her," Wonder Woman hissed. "We just need the mace."

"But, Diana," Beacon argued. "Wouldn't it just be easier to bring her along?" The Amazon's reluctance was starting to worry her. While she knew that Wonder Woman was not in good terms with Shayera, Beacon thought she would at least be willing to put that aside for the sake of the mission.

Alas, Wonder Woman never gave her an answer and they arrived at Shayera's door in silence. Beacon waited patiently while the Amazon slowly raised her fist, and gently tapped on the door once.

"Shayera?" she whispered. Several seconds passed, but the door did not open nor did any response come from the inside. Beacon saw that Wonder Woman was beginning to make a second attempt, but then, she dropped her hand completely and turned to her. "Can you get inside and open the door?" she asked in the same hushed tone.

The Halfa stared up at the Amazon in disbelief. This situation had just escalated into ridiculousness. At the very least, she could tolerate not bringing Shayera along, but invading a teammate's privacy was just taking it too far.

"_Seriously,_ Diana?" Beacon replied, also keeping her voice down. "Why don't we just ask the Monitor platform where she is? I mean, Echo could find her in, like, two seconds."

"That'd take too long," retorted Wonder Woman. "We'll be in and out before anyone knows it."

Beacon pressed her lips firmly together. "This is messed up." She remarked. "Breaking in and stealing-"

"We're _not_ stealing." Wonder Woman interrupted. "We're just… borrowing."

"_Borrowing without permission?_" snapped the Halfa. "That's the same thing!" She knew that they were caught in a stalemate, with neither side getting any advantage over the other. Even worse, every second they delayed only prolonged Zatanna, Doctor Fate, and Etrigan's suffering.

Wonder Woman breathed a long sigh, and then reached for her earpiece. For a moment, Beacon felt a smile form on her lips. It appeared that the Amazon had finally seen some sense.

Then, one sentence made Beacon's smile fall like a ton of bricks.

"Echo? Security override. User code: 0-0-3." Wonder Woman kept her eyes away from Beacon as she waited for the miniature robot to accept her request. When her override was granted, she turned her attention to Shayera's door. "Unlock this door."

Beacon watched the red light on the panel next to the door turn green. Then, the door itself spilt open and Wonder Woman walked inside. With a soft sigh, Beacon followed the Amazon. With one glance, she noticed that Shayera's room was not as personalized as Wonder Woman's, but perhaps the Thanagarian just preferred to keep it that way. She turned her head and found Wonder Woman sneaking around at the other end of the room, and then peeking her head into Shayera's closet.

"We should hurry up," She whispered quickly. Wonder Woman did not answer as she pulled out of the closet and turned around to look at another wall. Beacon followed her gaze as well and, to her slight relief, saw the Nth metal mace hanging there. Wonder Woman seemed to share her relief, because she smiled and walked over to the mace at a faster pace.

"Okay, we got it," Beacon observed as Wonder Woman took the mace from the wall. "Now let's get out of here before we get-" The sudden feeling of a presence to her left made her gasp and tense up. She deeply did not want to turn that way to see whom she had sensed, but at the same time, she knew exactly who was standing there. Slowly, Beacon turned her head, and gazed directly into the green eyes of Shayera Hol. "-busted." She finished in a defeated tone.

Shayera was currently leaning against the door with her arms crossed, and looking completely unamused. "Something I can help you with?"

Beacon turned to exchange looks with Wonder Woman, but the latter only had eyes for Shayera. "Look, I _need _it," said the Amazon, holding the mace up higher. "I'll bring it back."

Shayera's expression did not change as she gave her reply. "We become pals when I wasn't looking?"

Wonder Woman sighed. "There's trouble on Themyscira, _mystical _trouble."

"Yeah," Beacon chimed in. "That Felix Faust guy is controlling the Annihilator and threw magic off balance. Now Z, Fate, and Etrigan are getting the worse of it! We…We were hoping to use your mace to put an end to it."

Shayera stared at her for a moment before looking back at Wonder Woman. "Whatever's happening on that island of yours must be _pretty _badfor you to resort to this," she proclaimed. Then with a glance at Beacon, she added. "You even convinced our innocent friend here to be your accomplice."

Beacon's eyes fell as her cheeks suddenly became hot.

Wonder Woman did not seem as bothered by that last statement. "It's life and death," she said gloomily before raising the mace once more. "Can I have it?"

Shayera gave her a hard look before she said. "Uh-uh." Wonder Woman frowned as her arms fell. While she was wallowing in Shayera's denial however, the Amazon failed to see the Thanagarian walk up to her until they were practically nose-to-nose.

"It's a _package _deal." Shayera continued as she gently took her mace back. "You want the mace? You get me too."

Beacon could not escape the feeling of irony as she stared at both founding Leaguers. In the beginning, Wonder Woman was completely against bringing Shayera along, but now it looked as though she had little to no choice on the matter.

True to Beacon's prediction, Wonder Woman nodded.

"Alright then, let's get started." Shayera said as she gave the Amazon one last stare. Then, she turned, and walked out of the room. Once she disappeared, Beacon shifted her focus back to Wonder Woman who, in turn, looked back at her. Despite the latter's impassive frown, the Halfa easily noticed the embarrassment she was feeling on the inside.

"Don't say it," insisted the Amazon.

Beacon raised a curious eyebrow. "Don't say what?"

Wonder Woman turned her head back to the door and clenched her jaw for a moment. "I told you so." She replied.

With that, she too walked out of the room. As she passed Beacon though, she either did not see or just simply ignored the Halfa's triumphant grin.

* * *

After leaving the Watchtower on Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet, The Amazon spent several minutes debriefing Shayera on their mission. In Beacon's opinion, Wonder Woman had done quite a remarkable job at remaining calm and collected during the whole endeavor, Shayera, however, did not remove her eyes from the window through the entire brief, but she did occasionally respond with subtle grunts and a few 'Uh-huh's. Once the brief was over though, Wonder Woman wanted to know if Shayera had any further questions. However, when she did not answer, Wonder Woman decided that she was going to ask instead. "You're doing this because you want to prove yourself, aren't you?" She waited a couple of seconds in case Shayera was going to answer, but when she did not, she pressed on. "Well, you don't have to; you were forgiven a long time ago."

Another few seconds passed, and then Shayera finally spoke. "Did I ever ask for _your _forgiveness?"

Beacon saw Wonder Woman tighten her grip on the controls, but soon the Amazon relaxed, and became silent. Beacon had a feeling that Shayera's animosity was directed solely towards Wonder Woman, but she was not exactly sure. She had not interacted with Shayera much since she rejoined the League.

At that moment, something stirred in her brain, and eventually, it brought her back to that mission to the future. There, she had met the future members of the Justice League, and one of them was Rex Stewart, Shayera and John Stewart's son. Beacon knew they were once close; after all, stories travel fast in the League. Thing was, before Shayera came back, John had begun a relationship with Vixen. Now, because of that, Beacon was not sure if the future had changed. Her optimistic side told her that the future was not set in stone, and she firmly wanted to believe that, but another side of her wondered if that fierce half-human, half-Thanagarian she met would ever come to exist.

_Stop thinking that._ _Focus on the mission! _The sound of her own voice was so sudden; it made her head jolt slightly.

"Rachel? You alright?"

"Huh?" the Halfa turned to see Shayera looking at her with a hint of concern.

"I said are you alright?" she repeated. "You seemed startled for a second."

"O-oh," Beacon stuttered, her cheeks growing warm. "I-I'm fine, just focusing on the mission is all." Shayera nodded and made to turn back towards the window, before she completed the movement though, Beacon asked. "So Shay, how is it… y'know… being back in the League."

Shayera glanced away for a second, then turned back to her Beacon and shrugged. "Other than the new Watchtower and the new members, nothing's really changed. Although I have to say that it is nice to not have to deal with all the missions personally."

Beacon nodded and was about to ask another question, but at that exact moment, Wonder Woman made a very important announcement. "We're here." She said firmly. "Get ready."

* * *

**Themyscira**

Once Beacon stepped onto Themyscira's beach, her eyes instantly feasted upon the dense and yet strikingly beautiful vegetation that surrounded the island. As she overlooked the forest and into mountain top beyond, she saw towering white buildings that seemed to reflect the full moon's glow. Not to mention, there were also flickers of red and gold, which Beacon assumed to be from burning torches.

A shuffle in the sand made the Halfa turn her head. She noticed Wonder Woman standing next to her with longing in her eyes. It was as though the Amazon was having feelings of nostalgia about being back in her home.

"You seem _really _glad to be back, Diana." Beacon observed innocently.

Wonder Woman turned to her, and her eyes seemed to sparkle. "Oh, believe me. I am beyond delighted to be back." She replied. She shifted her gaze up and down the beach. "I remember some nights I would come to this very beach… and just gaze at the stars." This time, Beacon noticed something else in her eyes, something resembling… sadness.

Beacon turned her eyes up to the night sky as well, and saw millions upon millions of stars shining in the dense darkness. As she moved her gaze from star to star, she felt a weight of longing press into her heart. She would never see this in Miami, not unless she flew way higher than the city's skyline. Despite that tiny grievance though, she still loved the city very much.

"Uh, hate to ruin your homecoming, _princess,_" said Shayera, breaking the two out of their reverie. "But don't we have a maniac in a tin can to stop?" Wonder Woman blinked at her for a moment. Then she nodded, and replaced her sad and somewhat vulnerable image with the strength and courage of an Amazon.

"Right," she agreed firmly before setting her gaze to the buildings on the mountain. "To the gates!" She kicked off the ground and soared high into the air. As Beacon watched her go, she was reminded of how much she admired the Amazon for her sheer conviction. A spark seemed to have ignited within her that made her long for a fight. Therefore, without any further delay, Beacon leapt into the air and swiftly followed Wonder Woman's lead.

It did not take long for the three heroes to reach the gates, which turned out to be located in the heart of the island. Once they made their descent, Beacon felt the biting chill of her ghost sense loom over her, and eventually force her to release a sharp gasp. Below them, the armor-clad amazons were trying their best to barricade the ginormous double doors, either with pillars they fashioned out of wood or even their own bodies. However, despite their efforts one demon with large wings and claws managed to seep through and land directly before a tall blonde woman in a white combat dress.

"Mother!" Beacon heard Wonder Woman shout before she kicked into another gear, swooped in, and punched the demon with enough force to send it flying back into Tartarus.

"Diana?" Queen Hippolyta huffed as Wonder Woman, Beacon, and Shayera landed on the ground. The Halfa had realized her identity after the Amazon yelled her maternal title to the heavens. "You know you're not supposed to set foot on this island! The gods have decreed that…"

"The gods are decreeing stuff all the time around here!" Shayera snorted. However, she seemed to regret her statement when she saw the anguish on Hippolyta's face. "Ma'am," She added in a much softer tone.

A vicious roar from the gates made the group turn their heads. The demons on the other side were making a tremendous effort in an attempt to overpower the amazons. Some demons had even managed to knock a few amazons away.

"I have to go into Tartarus and stop all of this!" Wonder Woman declared.

"I won't allow it!" declined Hippolyta in a similar tone.

Wonder Woman turned back and shot her mother a look. "Neither of us have any choice in the matter, Mother." Queen Hippolyta eyed her daughter firmly, but eventually realized the truth in her words and backed up.

Wonder Woman made to leap off towards Tartarus, but Hippolyta grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Wait!" The queen said quickly. "If you are to attempt such a feat you should have access to your full power."

Wonder Woman raised her eyebrows, and from beyond her, Beacon did as well. First, she found out that the Amazon was forbidden to set foot on her home, and now she was being a witness to her unlocking her full power. What other surprises did this night have in store for them?

After that thought, Beacon refocused her attention when Hippolyta spoke again. "Because you _stole _your armor and lasso, you were never told of the power they process."

_Oookay… there's another surprise. _Beacon tallied in her mind.

Hippolyta raised her index finger to the red star on Wonder Woman's tiara. The instant the queen made contact, the tiara, as well as the Amazon's bracelets, belt and lasso, all lit in a fantastic display of golden light. When the light finally dimmed, Wonder Woman glanced at her equipment and then turned back to her mother.

"When the time comes," said Hippolyta, "you'll know everything you need to know." Wonder Woman nodded before immediately stepping towards Tartarus, leaving her mother with her two teammates. "Bring my daughter back to me." It was not a plea, but a command.

"Nothing to worry about," Shayera smirked. "She's almost as good at kicking but as I am." With that, the Thanagarian began to make her way as well.

"Ma'am," Beacon quickly addressed before she bolted after her teammates.

One by one, Wonder Woman, Shayera, and Beacon leapt through the enormous gates, and entered the fiery inferno that was Tartarus.

* * *

Being inside Tartarus was a new experience for Beacon, and not in a good way. She had no idea that such a degree of heat could exist. However, the heat was not the only problem, and as Beacon narrowed her eyes, she noticed a swarm of demons flying straight at her, Wonder Woman, and Shayera.

"Rachel," began Wonder Woman sharply. "Do what you can to thin the herd."

"Got it!" Beacon confirmed. Maintaining her flight pattern, the Halfa stretched her hand and fired her signature energy beams in rapid secession. Her attack flew straight at the demons, and managed to land squarely on a few of them. Unfortunately, Beacon realized not all demons were created equal as the rest managed to avoid being hit. As they approached even closer to the demons, Beacon, Wonder Woman and Shayera all exchanged quick looks, and then they braced themselves for close combat.

The demons all scattered as the heroes knocked back the initial contact, but their numbers advantage eventually caused the three women to separate. Beacon swung her leg hard and hit a demon right on the jaw. The creature squealed like a pig and then just simply dropped out of the air. Despite her success, Beacon was not granted any reprieve as another demon swooped in almost immediately and took a wild swing at her, but the Halfa easily dodged by ducking her head. Based on her observation, the demon's attacks seemed instinctual at best. Not once could she detect any hints of proper technique or strategy. _These things are just flailing their arms around hoping to hit something. _She remarked internally.

With that thought, Beacon closed the distance between herself and the demon. She then planted her hand right on its chest, and fired her energy at point-blank range. Beacon watched the demon get driven backwards into another group of demons, knocking them over like a set of cruelly designed bowling pins.

A jolt in her mind told Beacon that something was approaching fast from behind her. Although, even before she attempted to turn around, the screech told her everything she needed to know. Apparently, the demons had no idea what it meant to be subtle.

Beacon concentrated, and then felt her body go intangible. A split second later, she watched the demon try to grab her as it went past, and when it realized that it did not succeed in getting its claws on her, Beacon reformed her body, and pulled the demon into a headlock. The demon did its best to break free from the Halfa's grasp, whether by screeching at the tip of its lungs, or by flaying all of its limbs in rabid fashion.

After Beacon tightened her hold on the demon, a grunt of effort made her turn her head up. Floating several feet above was Shayera, and Beacon just watched her swing her mace and knock back two demons with one swing. At that moment, Beacon knew exactly how to depose of the demon she was holding.

"Shayera!" As the Thanagarian turned towards her, Beacon had already moved the demon from her hold and heaved it up straight her. "Batter up!" she concluded.

Shayera eyed the demon intensely. Once she deemed it close enough, she raised her mace again, and brought it down right on the demon's skull.

_CRACK!_

The sound came directly from the demon's head. Shortly after, it went limp and fell straight down into the fiery inferno below. While Beacon watched the demon fall, Shayera seemed to have something else on her mind.

"It's getting kinda hot in here." She remarked.

Beacon turned her gaze back to the Thanagarian. "Uh… Shay, I don't know if you've noticed," she paused to take a quick glance at her surroundings, "but we are in a world of _fire._"

Shayera pressed her lips together before responding. "Point taken, but still." Due to the wings on her back, Beacon failed to see the demon sneak up behind her, and therefore was unable to warn Shayera before the demon clamped down around her feathers and yanked her backwards, causing Shayera to yell in pain.

"Shay!" Beacon shouted before speeding off to help. Before she could reach the Thanagarian however, the demon pulling her stopped and stared at the feathers. Then surprisingly, it let go of Shayera's wing and backed away into another group demons. Beacon blinked at what had just happened, but when she got a closer look, she noticed the demons shared the same horror-filled expressions. When she wondered what had brought on their fear, the Halfa only had to look at Shayera, whose smirk was arguably the most prominent she had seen the whole night.

"That's right," said the winged-woman. "I'm an _angel._" As she said it, Shayera spread her wings completely outwards. The demons before her all flinched back and most even averted their eyes from Shayera. It was like the Thanagarian's very presence was causing them physical pain.

"You can mess with me of you want to," Shayera continued with a shrug. Then her expression turned serious, "but I don't think you wanna mess with the _boss_." She finished by firmly pointing her index finger upward, and Beacon knew she was pointing beyond the ceiling of Tartarus. Without another glance, the demons all scattered in separate directions. The way they flew frantically away honestly brought a small smile to Beacon's lips.

Another grunt brought the Halfa's attention to Wonder Woman, who delivered a tightly balled-up punch right into the center of a demon's face. It screeched with pain and clutched its face with both of its claws. Then, the demon spun around and blindingly flew off after its kin.

With the immediate threat now gone, Beacon and Wonder Woman regrouped with Shayera. "Maybe they were right to be afraid of you." Beacon praised.

Shayera looked at her and shrugged. "If we're lucky, they'll _all_ be that dumb."

The three women exchanged looks, and then continued their way through Tartartus.

* * *

"Diana, I have to ask." Beacon began after several minutes. Wonder Woman turned and eyed her curiously. "Why aren't you allowed to set foot on Themyscira?"

Wonder Woman frowned, and Beacon saw her jaw muscle clench tightly underneath her skin. "Remember when I told you about Faust?" Beacon nodded. "I knew I had to save my home and my people… but I also knew I couldn't do it alone. So I-I… I had to break the most sacred law in Themyscira, just to save it."

Beacon thought deeply about Wonder Woman's words. If she said that she could not save Themyscria alone, she naturally would have brought in the rest of the Justice League. Thing was, at the time, Shayera was the only other female member. The other five members were all male.

"You… you brought men to the island." The Halfa realized.

Slowly, Wonder Woman nodded. She then shifted her gaze back to the front. "To be honest, I can live with the banishment." Wonder Woman admitted. "Right now, I'm more focused on finding Faust."

"Wait, _Faust?_" Shayera asked sharply. "We should free Hades first."

At the mention of the name, Beacon saw anger creep onto Wonder Woman's face. "Hades can take care of himself." She scoffed. "I'm not here to help him."

"You're _not?_" snapped Beacon and Shayera at the same time.

"Then what are you here for?" asked Shayera immediately after.

Wonder Woman shot her a look. "You know what I mean."

"Actually Diana, I really don't."

The Amazon narrowed her eyes at Shayera, but before she could say anything else, Beacon chimed in. "Shay does have a point Diana. I thought our mission was to put Hades back on his throne."

"We'll worry about that _after _Faust is dealt with."

"Diana, be practical." Shayera advised. "We're going to need Hades if we're gonna take Faust down."

Wonder Woman rounded on her, her face twisting in anger. "We don't _need_ his help!" As Wonder Woman slowly crept her way closer to Shayera, Beacon floated in between them and gently placed her hands on the Amazon's shoulders.

"Diana, please calm down," said Beacon. Wonder Woman stared directly into her eyes, but to her relief, she felt the Amazon loosen her shoulders.

"Look," Shayera spoke again. "I-_We _can't make this decision for you Diana, but however you want to play it; we'll back up you up." She paused to look at Beacon, "Right, Rach?" she added.

"…Right," Beacon nodded, and then turned to the Amazon. "We've got your back."

Wonder Woman looked between her teammates for a moment before giving her firm reply. "Then it's Faust. The only problem is finding him."

Upon hearing that, Shayera raised a somewhat devious smirk. "Oh, that's not a problem." Then she flew off without any explanation.

Beacon and Wonder Woman exchanged looks, before hurrying after the Thanagarian.

* * *

As it turned out, Shayera's plan was to interrogate one of the locals. After reaching the edge of a deep abyss, the mace wielder instructed Beacon and Wonder Woman to wait for her. Then Shayera swooped down into the abyss, and returned with a grey-skinned demon that literally appeared to be skin and bones.

Shayera let go of the demon and he fell to the ground with a hard thud. He took a moment to recollect himself before turning his head to see the three heroes glaring at him.

"Where's Faust?" demanded Shayera.

The demon slowly got up and rubbed his head. "Let me think," he said. "Oh yeah, he's over there." He turned to point at some random direction. "No, wait… He's over _there_." He pointed in a different direction.

Beacon realized the demon was lying the second he opened his mouth. Perhaps another tactic was necessary to get the answers out of him. The Halfa glanced over to Shayera, who seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

"One more answer," she declared as she lifted her mace over her head, "and it better be the right one."

Strangely, the demon was not fazed by the sight of Shayera winding her weapon back. "_Or_ _what?_ You'll killed me?" He retorted sarcastically. "_Gosh,_ I might end up suffering eternal torment as punishment for my sins… Oh wait, I already am!"

Shayera narrowed her eyes dangerously and looked just about ready to follow through with her threat. However, before she could, Wonder Woman took a step forward, her lasso in her hand.

"Let me try." The Amazon looped her lasso around the demon and pulled him closer towards her. To everyone's surprise, the golden rope began to glow. "Tell me your name." she said to the demon.

"…Abnegazar." The demon replied plainly.

"Tell me where to find Faust, _Abnegazar._" Wonder Woman commanded.

"In Hades' library," he answered. Wonder Woman looked at her teammates, who both shrugged before urging her to continue.

Wonder Woman turned back to Abnegazar and made one more demand. "Lead us there."

"… Okay." Abnegazar stepped off towards the abyss and took flight. Beacon, Wonder Woman, and Shayera quickly made to follow. After a couple seconds, the Halfa moved closer to the Amazon with an aching question that she desperately wanted answered.

"How'd you do that?"

Wonder Woman turned to her and merely shrugged. "Magic lasso; who knew?"

* * *

They eventually found their way into the bowels of Tartarus. Suprisingly this place was completely devoid of the fire and blazing heat. To be honest, Beacon could not complain.

Standing directly before Beacon, Wonder Woman and Shayera was a miniature version of the Gates of Tartarus, but the vibe it was radiating was just as terrifying as its larger counterpart.

"This could be a trap." The Halfa announced as she turned to her teammates.

Shayera nodded before stepping towards Abnegazar. "Alright, you; is there _anything _else we should know?"

The demon merely stared at her impatiently. "Yeah," he said. "You _really, really _shouldn't go in there."

He then paused to turn and glare up at Wonder Woman.

"Now will you please take this rope off of me?" he demanded. "I'm a demon… the truth hurts."

After releasing Abnegazar, Beacon, Wonder Woman and Shayera pushed open the large doors and stepped inside Hades' library. At first glance, the Halfa was able to take in the seemingly rows of cobblestone bookshelves. However at the end of each shelf was a skeleton enveloped in a shell of fire.

Beacon found herself keeping her eyes on the skeletons as she walked deeper into the library. She could not escape the feeling that they were watching her and her teammates. While she had no evidence so support that theory, she braced herself just in case. Thankfully, if the pile of bones were to attack them, she was confident that her sensing abilities would detect them.

"Whoa!" the sound nearly made Beacon jump out of her skin. She reeled around as fast as she could and dropped into a fighting stance. However, instead of seeing the skeletons or any sort of threat, she only saw Shayera throwing a book away from her.

"_Shay!_" Beacon hissed under her breath.

"Sorry… _sorry_," Shayera replied, looking completely embarrassed.

Once the small fiasco had subsided, they made their way towards the end of the library. Once there, Wonder Woman peeked her head around a corner and jumped back almost immediately. Wanting to know what she saw, Beacon stepped forward and stuck her head out from the shelf. She saw a giant black mass sitting at a table by a wall. Beacon felt a flurry of accomplishment as she realized that they had found their target. The only thing to do now was to come up with a plan to defeat him.

"Okay, I'll turn invisible and get the jump on him." The Halfa suggested. Instead of waiting for a reply, she began to inch further outward, but before she could get too far, Wonder Woman grabbed her arm and swiftly pulled her back. "What are you doing?" Beacon muttered under her breath.

"We're not going to attack him." Wonder Woman answered.

The statement caused Beacon's jaw to drop. "Y-You can't be serious?" Ever since the start of this mission, the Amazon had made some questionable choices, but what she suggested was the straw the broke the camel's back. Beacon wondered if the imbalance of magic had taken its toll.

"Rachel, the Annihilator is fueled by aggression." Wonder Woman explained. "We would only make it stronger if we attack it."

Beacon blinked for a second as Wonder Woman's words clicked in her mind. However, there were still nagging concerns. "But Faust's soul possesses the suit. What if he attacks us with his magic?"

Wonder Woman pressed her lips into a line. "Then we'll have to defend ourselves." She answered plainly, and when she saw the unconvinced look on Beacon's face, she shrugged, "I'm sorry, that's all I have. To be honest, I am making this up as I go." Then before anyone could stop her, she began making her way towards Faust. Beacon was utterly dumbfounded as she watched Wonder Woman go. She turned back to look desperately at Shayera, but the Thanagarian shrugged as well before walking off. Realizing that she was alone with her opinions regarding Wonder Woman's plan, Beacon let out a soft sigh, and hurried after her teammates.

They approached Faust as cautiously as they could, but even with their light footsteps, the giant suit of armor was still able to detect them.

"Incredible. Wouldn't you agree, princess?" said Faust. The eerie tone of his voice was enough to raise the hair on the back of the Beacon's neck. "The Lost Scrolls of Herculaneum…" Faust continued. "Merlin's 'Juvenilia'… Pierre Menard's 'Don Quixote'."

There was a pause, and then Faust stood up, and turned to face the three heroes. The Annihilator had not changed much since the last time she saw it on the Watchtower. The only thing that seemed out of place was the floating head of an elderly man inside the helmet.

"These dark tomes make the Necronomicon look like a children's book." He paused again and Beacon could see Faust glance over the library. "There's enough arcana here to quench even my thirst for knowledge… At least for the next 5000 years or so."

From her right, Beacon heard Shayera scoff. "Why would anybody bother taking over this _dump?_"

Faust snarled. "To get revenge on Hades, for betraying me," he replied. "I planned to torture him for a few millennia, but Hades tried to make a deal…" He gestured towards the library. "He told me about this place; He kept his end of the bargain… but I _didn't keep mine…_ I still don't understand why he was surprised."

"Well, whoopty _freakin'_ doo." Beacon mocked. "Don't you realize what you've done by taking Hades off his throne? You've disturbed-"

"The magical balance, I know." Faust interrupted smugly. "Don't insult my intelligence, _child_." Beacon clenched both of her hands into fists, but restrained herself enough to allow Faust to continue. "Frankly, I don't really care, because now I'm already in Heaven… Figuratively speaking."

"Hoped you enjoyed it," said Shayera, holding up her mace. "We're revoking your library card." With that, she, Beacon and Wonder Woman slowly stalked their way towards Faust.

"Oh, you want to fight." He said, unamused. "Not in the mood." As he raised his hand, Beacon braced herself for an energy beam, a blast of fire, or anything to fly out of it. However, nothing of the sort came. Instead, the very ground beneath the three heroes began to swirl under their feet. Then, like a tornado, the ground rose high over their heads and covered them in a dense, unforgiving darkness.

* * *

The world would not stop spinning. Beacon felt herself being tossed and turned over against her will. The only thing she could do was listen to Wonder Woman and Shayera's screams rushing in and out of focus.

Then, from out of nowhere, a small dot of light appeared directly in front of her, moving at the same rate she was. Before she could ponder where it came from, the light began to increase in both size and brightness. It eventually became too overbearing and Beacon had to put up a hand to shield her eyes. Then she saw something else appear in the light. Through her fingers, it looked like a silhouette, but she could not be a hundred percent sure. She lowered her hand a tiny amount so her eyes could regain focus.

That was when she saw it, or rather, _him_. At the center of the light was a man's torso. He was wearing a long blue cloak that draped over his square shoulders. On his head was a brimmed hat that was tilted at a slight angle, completely covering his eyes.

At first glance, Beacon thought the man was the Question, but she dismissed it when she realized, while the man may be able to do many things, appearing in a flash of light was not one of them.

She and the man gazed at each other for a long moment, and then the latter extended his hand, covered in a pure white glove.

Caution warned her it could be a trick, a sick joke by Faust. But somehow, she did not believe that to be true. Slowly, the Halfa extended her own hand and reached out. Just when she felt her fingertips meet the man's, there was another flash of light that engulfed everything…

And then, she felt herself falling.

* * *

The air was refreshingly cool as Beacon, Wonder Woman, and Shayera emerged from out of nowhere. The ground before them was covered in a layer of white snow. While the sight of snow was infinitely better than the fires of Tartarus, it made Beacon feel very uneasy because she did not know if it was an inch deep or several feet deep.

Concentrating hard, she slowed her descent and gently floated down to the ground. When she finally did land, the snow crunched beneath her feet. There was another crunching sound next to her and the Halfa turned to see that Wonder Woman had touched down next to her. It seemed the Amazon was also able to slow her descent…

But then, Beacon heard a loud groan coming from her other side. She whipped around towards the sound and saw Shayera sprawled on the ground underneath a layer of loose snow.

"You alright, Shay?" Beacon asked immediately.

Shayera let out another groan, but steadily got up to her hands and knees. As she raised her head, Beacon offered her hand, which the winged-woman accepted. "Yeah," Shayera replied, allowing Beacon to pull her back up.

A gust of wind blew past and Shayera immediately reacted by hugging her arms and rubbing them vigorously. While her teeth chattered away, she looked swiftly at both Beacon and Wonder Woman.

"Okay... I get why you'renot cold." She said to Beacon. Then she turned to Wonder Woman. "But _you?_ Aren't you cold in that outfit?"

Wonder Woman and Beacon exchanged looks before the former replied. "Not really."

"It's probably the magic around your outfit," Beacon rationalized. "It's been protecting you from the environments."

"I think it's a lot simpler than that," said Shayera. "I think it's just the fact that the princess doesn't get cold. The princess doesn't even _sweat _in the fiery pits of Tartarus."

Wonder Woman shot her a look. "I do _too _sweat." She argued.

Shayera rolled her eyes. "Please, you glow," she informed. "I wouldn't be surprised if you don't even-"

"Argh!"

Beacon, Wonder Woman and Shayera turned towards the sound of the scream, and realized it came from beyond the surrounding mountains. The scream belonged to a man, who seemed be to in deep agony.

"Who do you think that is?" asked Beacon, turning back to her teammates.

She saw Wonder Woman pause for a moment, and then she narrowed her eyes dangerously. "I have a hunch," she muttered. "Let's go see if I'm right."

With that, the three heroes kicked off the ground and headed straight for the mountain.

* * *

They eventually passed through the mountain's peak and entered into some sort of cavern. At the center of the cavern was a rock with a man chained to its surface. Beacon could not make out the figure's features due to the swarm of vultures hovering directly before him.

"Well, well, looks like my hunch was correct," said Wonder Women, although her tone suggested she was rather disappointed.

Eventually Beacon understood what had caused Hades to cry out in agony. The vultures before him were digging their sharp beaks into his flesh, hoping to shred him into pieces.

"Get away from him!" Shayera shouted. All at once, the vultures turned and glared at them with their demonic yellow eyes.

Beacon saw her opportunity and took aim at a vulture. Her energy beam hit it dead center and the bird dropped out of the air like a stone. The other vultures stared at their fallen kin for a moment, and then they all let out a furious screech and charged at the three heroes.

Without hesitation, Beacon, Wonder Woman and Shayera all moved in unison to meet the vultures. Ultimately, the birds proved to be nothing more than a nuisance and Beacon was able to defeat them with just one attack. Before long, Beacon and her teammates had managed to take down at least half the vultures and, consequently, drive the other half away. With the birds gone, Beacon was able to take in Hades for the first time.

The ruler of the Underworld was a tall man with long black hair and a goatee. The vultures seemed to have done a considerable amount of damage to his entire body. Parts of his clothing had been ripped away and Beacon could clearly make out the angry flesh underneath.

"Did Faust send you?" asked the ruler of the Underworld. "Did he decide the vultures weren't enough?"

"…Uh, seriously?" Beacon questioned. "We just saved you from becoming dinner! The least you can do is acknowledge _that_."

At that moment, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw Wonder Woman staring back at her. The Amazon gave her a nod and the Halfa knew she was taking over.

Once Beacon took a step back, Wonder Woman rounded on Hades with nothing but contempt in her eyes. "They _aren't _enough, _monster._" She stated before leaping up into the air and smashing the chain that pinned Hades to the rock.

Hades landed with a rather loud thud and immediately began breaking the cuffs that once restrained him. Then, he turned back and gave Wonder Woman an eerie smile. "It appears I am in your debt, my child." As he said it, Beacon noticed his wounds had started to heal and his clothes were regenerating.

The feat did not seem to faze Wonder Woman however, as she just scoffed. "Thank the _gods, _Hades. If it were up to me…but even here there must be order."

"Faust doesn't care what happens to this place," said Shayera.

"_Or _any one he hurts," added Beacon.

"Hm…" Hades mused as he made his way over to the three heroes. "No one ever appreciates your work until you're gone."

Wonder Woman clenched her jaw muscles before responding. "Come on, we're putting you back on the throne." Based on her tone, Beacon could tell it pained the Amazon to say that.

Meanwhile, Hades' smile broadened as he said. "Or die trying?"

"Not gonna happen!" Shayera shot down immediately.

Hades eyed her for a moment before shrugging lazily. Then, he raised his arms and gusts of wind began to swirl around then. As lights began flashing from every direction, Beacon realized Hades was teleporting them back to his library.

However, right before they left, one thought had crossed her mind:

_What is it with these guys and their swirling tornadoes?_

* * *

Moments later, they reappeared back at the entrance of the library. Once Beacon had regained a hold on her senses, she turned to the rest of the group. "Alright, this time can we _please _come up with a plan?" she pleaded to Wonder Woman.

"Yeah, seriously," Shayera agreed quickly. "No more running in blinded."

Wonder Woman eyed both of her teammates intently before rolling her eyes. "_Fine_," she groaned, "We'll do it your way."

"You know, that was a _great _display of companionship," Hades said from behind them. "But I would like my throne back sometime _today._"

Wonder Woman reeled around and glared at the fallen Olympian. "I'm only going to say this once." She hissed, pointing a finger at his chest. "You'll do what we say, _when _we say it."

Hades laughed. "My child, what makes you think I am under any obligation to submit to you?"

"Simple," Wonder Woman answered. She grabbed hold of the lasso on her hip and it glowed at her touch. "You can either help us or I tie you up somewhere and pick you up when we're finished with Faust."

There was a moment of silence as the Amazon locked eyes with Hades. Beacon could have sworn she saw the latter raise a fulsome smirk, almost as if the god was proud of Wonder Woman's threat.

"Very well, you win." Hades finally said. Despite his assurance, Wonder Woman kept her glare on him for a couple more seconds before finally letting go of her lasso. The Amazon then turned back to Beacon and Shayera.

"What's the plan?" She asked.

Beacon nodded. "I think we should do something to rile him up first," she suggested, "get him to drop his guard."

"I got it!" Shayera chimed in. Then she raised her mace before adding, "I'll light the books on fire, that'll get his attention."

"Now hold on a moment!" Hades insisted sharply. The three heroes turned to him and saw the surprise in his eyes. "You are actually planning to destroy my tomes? I've spent an eternity collecting every one!"

"What's the big deal?" Shayera questioned. "It's not like you don't have another to start over."

"…_or _you could just save the space and get the books into a tablet." Beacon shrugged. "Just sayin'."

Hades glared daggers at both of them before finding his path blocked once again by Wonder Woman. "Forget it, Hades." She advised. "This is happening whether you like it or not."

Hades' glare turned into a deep scrawl. However, he eventually backed off and remained silent as the three heroes went into the finer details of their plan.

With everything established, Shayera slowly pushed the door open and they all slipped inside. The library remained unchanged since the last time they were here, but things were about to heat up… literally. Beacon turned exchanged looks with Shayera. Then the two of them nodded, and the latter began walking forward. She watched the Thanagarian extend her mace, where sparks of electricity began swirling the head of the weapon.

A jolt shot out of the mace and struck one of the books, instantly setting it alight. Within seconds, the flames completely engulfed the book, and just as quickly began to ignite every other book in the shelf.

As Shayera repeated the process to every other bookshelf in the library, Beacon felt surges of anxiety and guilt invade into her conscience.

_Ari, I'm sorry for letting this happen. _ She knew she former girlfriend would absolutely explode if she saw all those book being burned into ashes. The Halfa felt her face fall into a deep frown. _Former girlfriend. _That realization still hurt her very much.

"My books!" Faust's shout of despair jolted Beacon out of her reverie. Once she had regained her focus back to the matter at hand, the Halfa's eyes immediately honed in on the wall of fire that swallowed everything in its path.

"Alright, we have his attention," said Wonder Woman from beside her. Beacon turned to the Amazon to realize she was addressing Hades. "Time for your part of the plan."

Hades smirked at her for a moment and then leapt through the flickering flames. Beacon heard a loud _slam_, which was then quickly followed by Faust's agonized cry.

Now that their plan was well in motion, Beacon turned to Wonder Woman and extended her hand, "You ready?" she asked

"Ready." Wonder Woman nodded immediately and grabbed hold.

Beacon remained silent for a moment as she concentrated. Then, both she and Wonder Woman vanished from sight.

* * *

"This time I'll leave nothing behind for me to torture!" Faust yelled as he fired a purple energy beam from his palm. The attack hit Hades with enough force to blast him off his feet, and then sent him crashing through a burning bookshelf. The man then shifted his gaze and aimed at Shayera. Luckily, her reaction was just fast enough to avoid being hit. She was then able to avoid two more shots before Shayera noticed a golden rope loop around Faust's arm.

The rope jerked violently and dragged Faust away from Shayera. The Thanagarian followed the length of the rope until she saw Beacon and Wonder Woman doing their best to restrain Faust.

"Give up, Faust!" Wonder Woman barked. "We know the secret of the armor; it's fueled by rage."

"So as long as we don't fight you, you're powerless!" Beacon finished.

For a moment, Faust merely stared at them, seemingly taken aback. But before either Beacon or Wonder Woman could react, Faust grabbed the lasso with his other hand and yanked, pulling both women off their feet and crashing into another bookshelf.

"That was _before _I fixed it." Faust remarked with a devious smirk.

"Good to know." Faust whipped around the second he heard Shayera's voice, but was already too late as she swung her mace directly at his chest. The impact knocked Faust on his back and he slid a couple of feet. However, he was able to recover fast enough to blast two more energy beams from his hands.

Without much thought, Shayera swerved to avoid the beams, but then she realized they were nowhere close to where she was. Instead, the beams continued all the way up to the ceiling, and hit two of the hanging skeletons from before. The beams did not stop there; they twisted and hit the surrounding skeletons.

One by one, the skeletons began to move on their own accord. Then, as if they had eyes and muscles, they all honed in on Shayera and dove straight towards her.

Fortunately, the skeletons shattered with just one hit. But as Shayera threw swing after swing, there seemed to be no end to them. From out of nowhere, a punch caught her in the cheek and it threw her off. Before she could regain a sense of her surroundings, the mass of bone and fire had descended upon her.

* * *

"Well… so much for that," Beacon groaned as she got back to a sitting position.

Beside her, Wonder Woman quickly shoved the piles of splinters and planks and kept her focus on the battle. "We'll just have to improvise; let's go." She stated firmly.

Together she and Beacon shot off straight towards Faust. Sadly, Faust noticed them approaching and fired two more energy beams at them.

"MOVE!" Beacon shouted before immediately shifting her whole body aside. The beam was so close her that she estimated she had missed Faust's magic by an inch.

A cry from beside Beacon made her heart jump into her throat. She whipped around just in time to see Wonder Woman topple to the ground. To Beacon's horror, strange white strips had appeared out of nowhere and constricted the Amazon from head to toe.

At that moment, Beacon wanted to immediately tend to Wonder Woman, but doing so could leave her exposed to Faust. Fortunately, the Halfa realized she had the power to kill two birds with one stone, or at least hold the larger one off until she could free Wonder Woman.

Beacon took in a breath, and when she exhaled, she saw three duplicates appear in front of her. All of them immediately shot off towards Faust while she descended to the ground and quickly worked to free Wonder Woman from her bonds.

As the three copies of Beacon floated before Faust, he paused for a moment and smirked at all of them. "My, my… aren't you full of surprises." He said deviously.

"Whatever you say, Faust," said one of the duplicates.

"But you're going…"said the one directly next to her.

"…_Down_." The last one finished. Moving once more in unison, the duplicates raised their arms and fired at Faust. Three pairs of energy beams soared through the air and hit him right on the chest. Faust roared with pain and spun completely around, leaving his back exposed instead.

Now feeling more confident in their attacks, Beacon's duplicates slowly drifted closer to Faust. Suddenly, he whirled around and raised his arm to block all six energy beams. Then Faust raised his second hand and retaliated with yet another energy beam of his own. This time, as his attack continued to shoot out of his palm, Faust made a sweeping motion that dragged the beam across all three duplicates, causing them to cry out before disappearing one by one.

* * *

"OW!" Beacon shouted, clutching onto her midriff for dear life.

"What's wrong?" demanded Wonder Woman. With her efforts combined with Beacon's, they were able to rip the wrappings free. When they were about halfway done however, the Halfa suddenly doubled over in pain.

"Y-yeah," Beacon grunted, her face still twisted with deep discomfort. "M-my duplicates are gone."

"And you'll be next!" Beacon and Wonder Woman turned to see Faust raise his massive foot. Then, from out of nowhere, an orange energy beam blasted Faust right on the chest. The man roared in pain and was forced backwards.

Beacon and Wonder Woman turned their gaze again, and in doing so, they discovered that Hades was the one that fired the attack from his mouth. Although Beacon was relieved by it, she also knew the window was closing fast. She turned her attention back to Wonder Woman and resumed breaking her out of her bounds. It took a second longer for the Amazon to realize what she was doing, but when she did, she joined in as well.

True to Beacon's instincts, the reprieve was ultimately short-lived. After stumbling back a few feet, Faust lifted his hands, blocking Hades' attack with one and firing his own energy beam with the other. The purple beam found its mark on Hades and sent the god flying into the wall. Effectively pinning him and making him scream in agony.

An evil smirk rose on Faust's face as the library was filled with Hades' screams. It was at that moment that he realized leaving him to the vultures was a mistake; _he _should have been the one to do the torturing from the start. _Oh well, better make up for lost time. _Faust thought cruelly.

Something tapped against the side of his head. In surprise, Faust ceased his attack and turned in that direction. He noticed that the ground was littered with pieces of flaming bones, and walking directly over them was Shayera, her arm extended and her mace at the ready.

"My mace disrupts magic," she informed matter-of-factly. "What's that suit made of again?" Without waiting for answer, she leapt into the air and brought her mace down on Faust.

"Ah!" he yelled as the mace breached the armor on his chest, leaving a gaping hole for a stream of golden light to shine through. Shayera swung again, and again, and again. The hole on Faust's chest began to grow larger with each successful hit. Hoping to end it once and for all with one final blow, she cocked her mace back further to increase its potential energy.

Unfortunately, before Shayera could deliver the finishing blow, Faust had managed to grab her with his giant hand and begun slowly crushing her. In desperation, she tried to pry open Faust's grip, but it was all in vain. Faust's hold on her tightened even more and Shayera let out a loud cry of pain. Consequently, as the tremendous pressure overwhelmed her, her grip on her mace slipped and eventually fell out of her reach.

"SHAYERA!" Beacon cried as her friend continued to yell and squirm in pain. Then, she heard a loud clunk and noticed Shayera's mace had fallen right at her feet. Without further thought, Beacon snatched the mace up and took off to rescue her friend.

"LET HER GO!"

Faust heard her and merely responded with another energy beam. Beacon, unfortunately, had no time to swerve out of the way. Therefore, she settled for holding the mace, hoping that its Nth metal properties would be enough to protect her.

To her relief, the mace did in fact stop the beam from potentially frying her, but there was a major drawback, the mace did not stop the impact force from driving her back. Beacon tried to push with all of her might, but the best she could do was merely slow the beam down.

She just wasn't strong enough.

Then, without warning, she stopped. Not because she suddenly gained the strength to push on, but because there was an opposing force pushing on her back, steadying her. Even though Beacon knew who had come to her aid, she turned her head around just to be sure. And sure enough, directly behind her was Wonder Woman, beaming at her with her fiercely beautiful blue eyes.

Beacon felt a smile tugging at her lips as she turned her attention back to Faust and, with the help of Wonder Woman's steady hands, began to push the beam back. Further ahead, the Halfa noticed Shayera had fallen limp in Faust's hand. Beacon could only hope that it was not too late.

"I said," Beacon began as she got closer and closer to Faust. "Let. Her. _GO!_"

For a moment, she saw Faust's eyes bulge out in shock, and then she slammed the mace onto his chest, throwing him off his feet. As the hulking suit of armor landed with a thud, Beacon and Wonder Woman noticed that Shayera had landed directly next to him.

"I'll get her to safety," Wonder Woman announced, "You just finish him."

Beacon nodded and she descended on Faust, holding the mace downward. She slammed the weapon against Faust's head, directly over his face. As Faust screamed in agony as his face shield began to crack. Reassured by this, Beacon gritted her teeth and pushed the mace further into Faust's face. Beams of light began to shoot out and the entire Annihilator suit started to shake violently.

For a moment, everything became still and quiet… Then came the explosion that engulfed everything.

* * *

"…Rachel?"

Beacon's eyes fluttered open like a curtain in a stage. There was a mass of colors directly in front of her but she could make nothing out due to her blurred vision. The Halfa steadily allowed her eyelids to close over her eyes again, hoping the gesture would allow her eyes to reset.

"Rachel, are you alright?" This time, Beacon's eyes shot open, and as though the words were a remedy, her eyes regained their focus.

Standing directly over her, covered in a layer of dust, was Wonder Woman. The Amazon did not appear to have sustained any physical trauma, but the concerned look on her face told a differently story. Beacon, wanting to put Wonder Woman at ease, moved her arms and legs in an attempt to get up. However, her entire body refused to budge and instead greeted her with a series of pounding aches. Caught off-guard by the pain, Beacon let out a sharp gasp.

"Take it easy." Wonder Woman insisted quickly as she placed a hand on Beacon's shoulder. "Let me help you." She took hold of Beacon's arm with her other hand and slowly lifted her back into a sitting positon.

Even though the Amazon was being as gentle as she could, the movement still caused the Halfa to wince in pain. After taking a second to compose herself, she turned her gaze to the library, or rather, the remains of one. All around her were plies of splintered wood, and scattered all over the stone floor were pieces of charred books and paper.

Beacon turned back to Wonder Woman, "Shayera," she began worriedly. "How is she? Is she-"

"Slow down." Wonder Woman replied slowly, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "See for yourself."

Wonder Woman gestured towards a direction further down the room. Beacon quickly followed and, with great relief, saw the Thanagarian grinning at her before giving her a small wave. Beacon felt her lips form a big smile as she waved back with a shaking hand.

"And you know what?" Wonder Woman continued. "She said I was all sweaty."

Beacon could not help but laugh. "Guess you told her, huh?"

Wonder Woman let out a soft chuckle. "Guess so," She agreed. She got back to her feet and extended a hand. Beacon accepted it and, with their combined efforts, stood back up as well.

Together Beacon and Wonder Woman made their way back towards Shayera and Hades. The latter of the two, Beacon noticed, was intently flipping through the charred remains of a book, and for a moment, the Halfa actually felt sorry for him.

"Oh, well," Hades sighed, throwing the book away without another glance. "Who has time to read these days?"

He paused for a moment to glance down at his face. Beacon followed his gaze and realized he was staring at what used to be theAnnihilator's head, Slowly, Hades bent over and reached into the remains. When he stood back up, there was something wiggling in his fingers. At first, Beacon thought it was some sort of purple worm, but after narrowing her eyes, she realized it was Faust's head.

The once intimidating sorcerer now looked infinitely more pathetic as he desperately tried to squirm out of Hades' grip, but he could not, no matter how hard he tried.

With a heavy snarl, Hades brought Faust closer to his face before speaking again. "Besides, now I've got a new hobby; tormenting Faust's pathetic soul," He paused to look over at Beacon, Wonder Woman and Shayera. "Any problems with that?"

"Not my department," said Shayera before turning to Wonder Woman. Beacon would have liked to say something as well, but since Shayera took the words out of her mouth, she decided to remain silent.

Hades gave a brief nod and turned to Wonder Woman as well. "And you, my child?"

Wonder Woman looked at him firmly. "Have a party," she replied bluntly, "but _don't _call me 'my child' again, or you'll get what he got."

There was a pause, and then Hades slowly approached the Amazon. "Your mother never told you, did she?" he asked. When Wonder Woman did not respond, he bent over slightly and raised an oddly gentle grin. "Weren't you ever curious about your father's identity?"

Beacon furrowed her brow deeply as she looked between the Amazon and Hades. _Where's he going with this?_

"I don't have a father!" Wonder Woman retorted. "My mother sculpted me from clay, and breathed life into me."

Hades' grinned broadened as he gave his reply. "Your mother and I sculpted you _together_."

_WHAT?! Whoa, Whoa! _"So then what?!" Beacon blurted out before she could stop herself. "You're saying _you're_ her _father?_ And you expect us to believe that?"

Hades' smile faltered a little. "It does not matter to me whether you believe me or not." He replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

He turned back Wonder Woman again, but the Amazon refused to meet his eyes. Nevertheless, he pressed on. "When I met you a few years ago, I realized Hippolyta must have brought you to life _after_ I was condemned to Tartarus… As a reminder of me perhaps." With that final inquiry, Hades turned his back to them, and began walking away.

Beacon glared daggers at Hades' back for a moment before rounding on Wonder Woman. To her dismay, there was a deep frown on the Amazon's face and her seemed to have sunken into misery. "Diana, don't pay attention to a _word_ he says."

"Yeah, he has to be lying," Shayera agreed, and then to take thing further, she unclipped Wonder Woman's lasso and held it before her face. "We can prove it! Use the lasso on him, make him tell the truth!"

There was a long pause, and then Wonder Woman breathed a sigh and looked at her teammates. "… The truth is… it doesn't matter." With a gentle hand, she took her lasso back and reattached it to her hip. "I know what I need to know;" The Amazon continued, "I know who raised me, and I know what I was raised to do."

Although Shayera nodded her understanding, Beacon still felt uneasy about the whole ordeal. For another tense moment she and Wonder Woman stared at each other, then the latter placed her hand on her shoulder and said, "Rachel… it's okay." Her lips curled into a reassuring smile.

In truth, a part of Beacon wanted to keep pressing the issue, but another, more rational part of her realized it was a dead end. In the end, she raised a small smile of her own and nodded as well.

Now that all three of them were on the same page, they began stepping off towards the library's exit, and then, eventually, out of the bowels of Tartarus.

* * *

Upon passing the gates, Beacon, Wonder Woman and Shayera found themselves being welcomed by the thunderous screams and cheers of the amazons. Beacon felt nothing but jubilation and quickly turned to beam at Wonder Woman and Shayera, both of which responded in kind.

When cheers finally died down, the three of them waited patiently for Hippolyta to finish making her way towards them. However, the queen of the Amazons had eyes only for her daughter.

There was silence as mother and daughter merely gazed into each other's eyes. From Beacon's standpoint, both of them were trying to think of what to say, but it seemed that being apart for so long had made things rather awkward.

"Thank you for unlocking my armor's powers." Wonder Woman began slowly, her face falling into sadness.

Queen Hippolyta shook her head before replying. "You earned them a long time ago… I was too stubborn to admit it."

For a moment, Beacon noticed Wonder Woman crack a small smile, but then it disappeared nearly as fast as it came. "I-I should go." She gave nothing more and began to move. However, just before she took a step, Hippolyta stopped her.

"Stay and rest for your trip," she said, "At the very least you and your friends can share a meal with me."

Wonder Woman widened her eyes in surprise. "But… I've been banished! The gods…"

"_This _is your home." Hippolyta insisted firmly. Then she placed a hand on her chest and added. "And I'm your mother. The gods don't like it, they'll have to take it up with me."

"Wow…" Beacon mouthed silently. _What a tough mother… literally. _As she finished her thought, she saw Hippolyta turn and walk off. A second later, Wonder Woman turned around and Beacon instantly noticed her ear-to-ear grin.

For a moment, the Halfa suspected that she was going to thank her. To show that such an act was not necessary, she raised a grin of her own and nodded. Wonder Woman appeared to have received her message as she returned the nod. Then, she turned to beam at Shayera.

"What about us?" asked the Amazon. "Are we good?"

Shayera paused for a moment before shrugging. "Like oil and vinegar," she replied with a smile. "We go together, but we don't mix."

Wonder Woman merely nodded. "Works for me." With that, Beacon, Wonder Woman, Shayera all took off and began making their way back into Themyscira.

As she flew behind the two older women, Beacon could not help but feel hopeful of their rebuilding friendship.

* * *

**Hippolyta's palace**

Rachel was beyond impressed as she sat down at the long wooden table. Barely two hours had passed since the battle at the gates of Tartarus, and the Amazons were still able to conjure up a meal that was both fresh and delicious. One thing that did make her hesitate though was when she was offered some Amazonian wine.

"I mean, should I drink this?" the Halfa asked rather innocently. "I'm not old enough yet."

Wonder Woman let out a soft chuckle. "Rachel, I understand your point, but here, on Themyscira, that particular law does not apply."

"Yeah, besides," Shayera chimed in, "think of it as the spoils of a hard earned victory." In one swift motion, she snatched her own glass off the table, and downed the rest of her wine in one gulp.

"I'll drink to that!" exclaimed Hippolyta, downing her drink as well

Rachel watched them both with admiration, but a part of her still made her hesitate. Finally, Wonder Woman spoke to her once more. "You're among friends here, and in a controlled environment," reassured the Amazon princess. "Nothing is going to happen."

Both Rachel and Diana stared at each other for a moment. Then the former, having found no flaw in the latter's logic, agreed and drank her wine. Although she was not as ambitious as either Shayera or Hippolyta, she still grimaced when the sharp taste hit her throat.

As the meal went on, Wonder Woman began sharing stories regarding her time in the League. The one that she gave the most details on was the time when Circe used her as a ploy to exact revenge. At first, Hippolyta seemed taken aback, but then a string of jeers flew out her mouth at such a rapid rate, that Rachel was sure that she had thought about them beforehand and was just waiting for the right moment to use them.

After sharing a laugh at the colorful vocabulary, Hippolyta revealed to Wonder Woman about the new additions to the island and insisted that she took the time to come see it. Then with a quick glance at Shayera and Rachel, Hippolyta added that they too were welcome.

While Shayera nodded in thanks, Rachel took a second to think about the offer. From her observations, Themyscira was practically an isolated place filled with beauty and wonder. It seemed just like the place… for her next date!

Excitement instantly spread all over Rachel and her mouth blossomed into a firm smile as she beamed over to Hippolyta. "I'd loved to!" she exclaimed a little too enthusiastically. "But can I ask a question your majesty?"

"What is it?" asked Hippolyta, raising an eyebrow.

"Is it okay if I… bring my girlfriend along?"

For a moment, Rachel and Hippolyta merely locked eyes, and then when Queen's unmoved expression remained unchanged, her cheeks began to feel hot. She could not pinpoint the exact reason that caused her to feel that way. Perhaps it was the wine in her system, or the weight of her request, or maybe it was that fact that everyone at the table was staring at her.

Finally, when her cheeks felt like they were about to boil, Diana let out a soft chuckle before leaning closer to Hippolyta. "Mother, Rachel is a valued friend and teammate. She can be trusted."

Hippolyta eyed between Diana and Rachel for another moment before replying at last. "Very well, you may bring along your significant other."

Rachel's arms and legs twitched as though they were ready to spring into the air by themselves, and the wine she had drunk was not helping her mind to keep them at bay. In the end, she managed to put on her most composed face, and said, "Thank you, Thank you _very _much."

Hippolyta grinned and nodded. Then she scooted out of her chair and rose to her feet. "Your rooms have already been prepared." She announced. "Feel free to spend all the time you need to rest for your trip. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to tend to."

Rachel, Diana, and Shayera all nodded at the Queen before watching her walk elegantly out of the room.

* * *

"_Sure sounds like I missed a lot!_" said Kara on the other end of the screen. "_I wish I could've been there too."_

For the past few minutes, Rachel had been holding a video conference on her phone to tell Kara about her mission earlier. The Halfa was sitting in a large four-poster bed in an even larger circular room that seemed to be made completely out of shining marble.

When she finally finished her story, Rachel saw the longing on her girlfriend's face and wanted nothing more than to be on the other side of the screen to hold and comfort her. However, there was another side of her that did not wish to leave the silk sheets of her bed.

"I know, Kara…" Rachel replied sympathetically. She wanted to say more, but was afraid that she might make Kara feel worse, not better. Therefore, she resorted to changing the subject. "So… How was your time with Clark?"

Kara blinked once before answering. "_Oh... Well, I don't really know what to say about it… He, uh, had me… multitask?_"

"Really, like what?" Rachel asked.

"_I mean…_" Kara paused for moment to collect her thoughts, "_In the beginning, he had me make a huge sculpture out of ice, but then he started to recite something to me, and then __**asked**_ _me to recite it back word-for-word! I looked at him and thought, 'ARE YOU KIDDING ME'!"_

Rachel could not help but laugh. "Well, did you manage to recite it back?"

"_Yeah! After about three tries,_" said Kara, rolling her eyes. "_He says these exercises were supposed to improve my concentration and attention to detail. But the more I think about it… Hold one a sec._" Rachel raised an eyebrow as Kara looked away, and turned her head from shoulder to shoulder. It was as though she did not want to be overheard.

After another second, Kara turned back to the screen, and leaned in closer. "_I think he's using them as an excuse to spend time with me._" She whispered. "_I think he wants to make up for what he did._"

"Well, can you really blame him for it?" Rachel questioned.

"_I guess not,_" Kara replied with a shrugged. "_It's just… why did he have to pick __**today**_?"

"It's just a coincidence, Kara." Rachel told her patiently. Then she felt a smile creep up on her face. "By the way, I have good news."

Kara raised her eyebrows in curiosity. "_What is it?_"

"I've found the place for our next date."

There was a pause as Rachel watched Kara process what she had just told her. Then her girlfriend's eyes shot wide open as she let out a long, drawn gasp. "_Really? Where is it?_" she demanded at blazing speed. Rachel opened her mouth to answer, but Kara beat her to the punch. "_You're there right now, aren't you?_"

Rachel broadened her smile and nodded. "I asked Diana's mom, and she was cool with us spending a day here."

Kara's excitement, Rachel could tell, was beginning to overwhelm her. She clapped her hands over her mouth in an attempt to hold it all in, but she could do nothing to stop herself from bouncing up and down.

"I take it you're excited?" said Rachel, wincing slightly as she cited the obvious.

"_Are you kidding? I'm __**beyond **__excited!_" Kara exclaimed. She took a moment to collect her breath before continuing. "Oh, you have no idea how much I wanna kiss you right now."

Seeing the desire in Kara's eyes made Rachel's heart race. "I have _some _idea," she retorted cheerfully, her cheeks now feeling warm, "and I'm _really_ looking forward to it, but right now I should-" She paused to cover up a yawn, "-get some rest."

"_Okay, you go ahead and do that, and I'll be here when you get back,_" said Kara, "_sleep tight._" Slowly, she raised her fingers to her lips and blew a gentle kiss to the screen.

Rachel beamed as she replied, "I'll see you soon." With that, she tapped her thumb on the screen, and disconnected the call.

She took a moment to breathe a hearty sigh before burrowing deeper into the covers. As her eyes slowly began to droop, her mind was only focused on Kara. She loved how excited she was when she told her about their date. She loved her smile; one that symbolized that everything was going to be okay.

Lastly, she loved Kara's warm, gentle, and overall good heart.

She…loved…_her._

In a jolt, Rachel's eyes shot open as the realization coursed through her brain.

_I love her!_

Again, her heart began to race and the corners of her mouth perked up into a firm smile. She desperately wanted to tell Kara how she felt, and maybe she felt the same way too...

But what if she didn't?

Her smile fell at the uncertainty. Yes, it was possible that Kara would not share Rachel's love for her. However, the Halfa knew that she had to let her know, but how should she tell her?

Initially, Rachel thought about telling her the next time she saw Kara, but that did not sit well with her. Such a move felt too rushed and out-of-nowhere. No, in order to tell Kara something of _that _magnitude; the mood had to be just right. And that was when it hit her: the date. The date would be the perfect! The place was perfect, and depending on the time, the mood would be perfect as well.

_Now it all boils down to playing my cards right. _She thought before the drowsiness finally regained its foothold and made her drift off to sleep.

* * *

In an unknown void, filled with swirling mist, the two tall figures stood before a glowing circular image. In it was a young girl that had just finally caved into slumber. For a long moment, the two figures merely remained where they were, watching her sleep.

Finally, one of them spoke. "The balance has been restored." His voice was gentle, and echoed softly around his surroundings. The figure wore a long blue cloak, complete with a brimmed hat that effectively covered his eyes.

"So it would seem," remarked the other figure, in a lower and somewhat harsher tone. Like his counterpart, the figure also had a cloak draped over his shoulders. However, unlike his counterpart, his cloak was green and had a hood to cover his head. He also had a bleach white skin tone, with matching, pupil less eyes. "Although, her darkest trials draw ever nearer."

The figure in blue shifted his head slightly towards his acquaintance. "Yes," he agreed, "soon… Rachel Robertson will have to confront the one who took those that were precious to her." He paused to look back at the image. "With that said: I am certain she will make the right choice, for the sake of justice."

"_Justice…_" The figure in green echoed mockingly. "Do not be so certain, Stranger, for _vengeance _can become quite… unpredictable."

The Stranger turned back towards him before giving his reply. "_That_… Spectre. I am _very _well aware of."

Silence filled the void again as the Stranger and the Spectre stared at one another, and then, as if sharing the exact same thought, both them faded into nothingness.

* * *

**That's another chapter in the books. Well, what did you think? Please feel free to leave any comments and I will see you all next time.**

*****Happy Holidays!*****


	26. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own the cartoons of which this whole thing is centered around.**

**A/N: Sorry I've been away. However, I am overjoyed to see the support that all of you have given. Over 30,000 views, 100 favorites and follows! THANK YOU! You readers are nothing short of awesome and deserve all the praise.**

**Once again, thank you Jagarspot for proofreading.**

* * *

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 17

Rachel sat patiently on the lounge chair and kept her eyes focused on the Sorcerer Supreme sitting opposite from her. Occasionally, the young girl would take sips from the tea that was graciously offered by the Doctor's wife, Inza.

It had been about a week since Felix Faust had disrupted the magical balance, and since then, Rachel had been very curious and eager to learn more about the mysterious man in blue she saw in Tartarus. Naturally, her first thought was to head straight to Doctor Fate, who had quite a reputation of being a walking magical encyclopedia, though he would never address himself as such.

After getting settled in, Rachel had wasted no time describing the man to Fate. She gave him all the details she could remember, starting from the brimmed hat that was tilted so his eyes were hidden, and then to the long blue cloak that hung over his shoulders.

"…Then he stretched out his hand to me and I reached for it," she revealed, "the next thing I know; Diana, Shay and I were all falling into the snow dimension." Rachel stopped to take a breath; the act of recalling everything had left her breathless.

Doctor Fate merely rubbed the bottom of his helmet before finally giving his reply. "It seems you have witnessed quite an occurrence."

Rachel nodded in agreement. "So… do you have any idea who… or what the man was?" she asked.

Doctor Fate sat a little straighter on his chair. "Based on your descriptions," he began simply. "I would say the man that came to your aid was… the Phantom Stranger."

Rachel blinked. Although she had no idea what to make of such a name, the significance Fate gave it was more than enough to warrant more of her curiosity.

"So… Who exactly is he?"

"Hmmm," mused Doctor Fate, "very little is known about him: no one knows who he is or where he hails from. However, according to legend, the Stranger acts as a humble guide to anyone that has lost their way."

Doctor Fate's words were finally clicking in Rachel's mind. She realized that the Stranger was in fact responsible for sending her and her team to where Hades was. In doing so, he allowed them to stop Faust and restore the magical balance. However, there was still one lingering issue. "If what you say is true, and this _Stranger _really helps those that are lost. Then how come Diana and Shayera couldn't see him?"

Doctor Fate contemplated for a moment before answering. "…I cannot be certain. Beings like him operate in mysterious ways."

Rachel breathed a slow sigh, but then she noticed Fate's choice of words. "Wait, did you say… _beings_?" she questioned.

Doctor Fate merely gave her a slow nod. "Indeed."

* * *

**Watchtower (Locker Room)**

When Rachel stepped into the room, courtesy of Doctor Fate's teleporting ankh, she immediately turned her mind to the next thing on her agenda, and it was quite important indeed. Taking a few steps forward, she opened her locker and pulled out a brown rucksack. After securing it against her back, The Halfa reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone, and clicked the number she wished to call. Finally, she held her phone up to her ear and merely waited… and waited… and waited… and then…

"_Hello?_" said the voice of Martha Kent.

"Hi, Misses Kent!" Rachel replied cheerfully. "Is Kara there?"

"_Oh, Rachel, hi sweetheart,_" Martha replied in a similar manner. "_Kara's still in her room picking out what clothes to wear._" Rachel could not resist the urge to roll her eyes; Kara had known about their date for days, at the very least she could have had something picked out in that period of time.

"Well, if that's the case, Misses Kent," the Halfa resumed. "Could you have Kara call me whenever she's ready?"

"_I most certainly c-_" before Martha could finish, Rachel heard a loud _Whoosh_ and instantly knew the meaning behind it. However, the Kent matriarch was still keen to address it. "_Never mind, she's right here._"

"Oh… okay," said Rachel. There was a slight rustle on the phone as Martha passed it to Kara. When the sound finally cleared, Rachel finally got to hear the voice that seemed like music to her ears.

"_Hey Rach!_" Kara addressed in a happy tone. "_Sorry 'bout that_._ I was still getting ready._" At the end of her sentence, Kara let out a soft chuckle that brought a smile to Rachel's lips.

"That's okay," She immediately forgave. "You know, Kara, you don't have to go through all the trouble to look nice for me. I think you're beautiful no matter what."

"_Oh shush! You flatterer!_" Kara exclaimed, though Rachel could easily imagine her flushing over the compliment. "_Besides, whoever said I was looking nice for __**you**_?"

Rachel laughed at her girlfriend's smart-alecky remark. "Well, you looking nice is always a bonus. So how much longer are you gonna be?"

"_Um, 'bout that…_" Kara replied vaguely. "_Just gimme another… uh… ten? Fifteen? Twenty - yeah! Gimme another twenty minutes._"

Rachel let out a slow, reluctant sigh; she thought a person with supercharged cells would _not _need that amount of time. However, she digressed. "Alright, Kara… I'll come and pick you up then."

"_Sounds great! Gotta go, later!_"

"Yep, see you in a bit."

With that, Rachel disconnected her call and, with a slight shake of her head, made her way out of the locker room.

* * *

After several minutes of walking through the Watchtower's hallways, Rachel noticed there was something amuck with the Leaguer approaching her. Sure, she had passed other Leaguers and paid no attention to them, but that was because none of them seemed to be in a bad mood whatsoever. _This _Leaguer however, looked completely miserable.

Rachel stopped in her tracks, and addressed the Leaguer. "Captain Marvel?" she said gently. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh?"

Captain Marvel stopped as well and it was at this point that Rachel realized he did not initially see her. The Captain was a tall young man with sleek black hair and a square face. He was wearing a red body suit with a large golden lightning bolt at the center of his chest. On his feet was a pair of golden boots. Finally, a lone white cape draped over his left shoulder, arm, and back.

Marvel eventually met Rachel's eyes and blinked. After a brief moment, he seemed to figure out that she was the one that called out to him, but he still seemed confused. "I - I'm sorry, miss," he said slowly, "but do I know you?"

Now it was Rachel's turn to blink. "Of course you do silly," she replied, "I met you two days ag-" She stopped midsentence and instinctively looked down at herself. Upon seeing her purple hoodie and black jeans, she finally realized the source of the Captain's confusion. "Oh, _duh,_" she continued with a smack to her forehead.

In a flash of light, her blue rings appeared around her waist and she turned into her ghost self. When the rings faded, she turned back to meet Captain Marvel's eyes, and hoped that he would make the connection. Fortunately… he did.

"Oh! Beacon!" He smacked himself in the forehead and let out a hearty chuckle. "Sorry about that, I totally didn't recognize you! How in the world did you do that?"

Beacon grinned as she spoke. "Well, what you're seeing right now is my ghost half, and now this-" The blue rings reappeared and reverted her back to her human form, "is my human half."

"Golly…" Captain Marvel beamed. He seemed utterly mesmerized by the Halfa's transforming abilities. "That is _beyond _cool, and you don't even have to say anything!"

"I'm sorry?" Rachel questioned, confused.

"Oops!" Captain Marvel blurted out as he smacked his hand over his mouth. "I - I kinda said too much."

"Uh, okay…" said the Halfa slowly in her still-confused tone, "So anyway, um, sorry to bring this up, but was there something bothering you? You seemed really upset."

After Captain Marvel lowered his hand, Rachel immediately noticed the deep frown on his lips. "Oh… uh…well… thing is… I was in a meeting with Superman and the other Founders." His entire posture seemed to droop and there was a tone of shame in his voice. "They… well, Superman really… wanted to talk to me about what was in the paper today. Apparently it said that I endorsed Luthor for the presidency."

"Apparently?" Rachel echoed, arching an eyebrow.

"I _never_ said I was endorsing Luthor," Marvel justified. "Just that he's changed from bad to good. But the reporters twisted my words."

Rachel breathed a slow sigh. "Yeah, it's sad, but the press will do stuff like that; that's why we have to be extra careful with what we say."

"Yeah, I… uh… I realize that now," Marvel said with a slight chuckle. "But one thing's for sure though: I'm not gonna stop believing that people can change."

Rachel blinked as she stared into his eyes, and although they were firm, they made her feel rather uneasy. _Could he really be that naïve?_

"Well, that's a…" she stopped to clear her throat. "That's a strong point of view."

Captain Marvel nodded, grinning broadly. "Yeah, I believe in fair play and giving people the benefit of the doubt. That's the basis of a hero." _So he really __**is**__ that naïve. _Rachel thought with a frown. Coincidentally, the Captain must have deciphered the meaning of her expression, because he added, "What's the matter? You don't agree?"

Rachel sighed once more before replying. "Well, based on everything I've heard, read, and seen about Luthor: I don't think he should be trusted… "As soon as she said the word, she noticed Marvel open his mouth to protest. Not wanted to be interrupted; the Halfa quickly and politely added. "Please let me finish." Fortunately, Captain Marvel heeded her request, and allowed her to continue. "Now, I am not holding out on the possibility of him turning good, but I think we should still keep an eye on him."

There was a pause as Rachel watched Captain Marvel contemplate her words. In all honesty, she could not help but feel a little guilty over raining all over his parade.

"Well, okay," the Captain finally said. "I get why that would be a smart move."

Rachel nodded, and then placed a gentle hand on Marvel's arm. "Sometimes not everything is what it seems. I know it's a hard thing to hear, but that's just how the world wor - Oh shoot!"

With a glance at her watch, the Halfa realized that nearly ten of the allotted twenty minutes had been exhausted. She was beginning to run late!

"Uh, sorry but, I gotta go!" Without waiting for a reply, Rachel bolted past Captain Marvel and made her way towards the end of the hallway.

However, right as she reached the automatic door, she heard Marvel say, "Okay, it was nice talking to you, Beacon!"

As the door hissed and slid open, the Halfa turned and gave one last reply. "I'm off-duty right now! Call me Rachel."

Then with a smile, she stepped past the door and disappeared.

* * *

**Sky above Kansas**

Layers upon layers of clouds rapidly shot past Rachel's point of view, and before long, she was able to make out the vast open plains of Smallville, Kansas. Rachel could not help but feel elated as she leaned back into her seat, and her anticipation for the events to come did nothing to wipe the grin off her face.

Directly before her, Diana gently pushed down on the controls to lower her Jet's altitude. With a great deal of care, the Amazon Princess guided her craft onto a large, grassy landing about a hundred feet from a farmhouse.

"Thanks for agreeing to this, Diana," Rachel announced as she unbuckled her safety harness.

"It's my pleasure," replied Diana kindly. She glanced over to the control panel, powered down the engines and pressed the hatch release button. The glass case covering the cockpit opened with a soft hiss.

Rachel stood up, climbed off the Jet and hurried towards the house. After hopping onto the porch, the Halfa raised her hand and tapped the door three times. It only took a second before the door was flung opened and there was Kara, dressed in a light-blue cotton shirt, black leggings and matching slip-on shoes.

Before Rachel could open her mouth to speak, Kara shot forward and wrapped her in a warm embrace. "Hey you!" she exclaimed when she broke the hug.

"Hey, beautiful," replied Rachel with a firm smile. "You look amazing."

"…Thanks," said Kara, blushing.

The Halfa nodded before holding her hand out. "Ready?"

"Hang on a sec," Kara reached down somewhere behind the door frame and pulled out a simple backpack. After slinging it on her shoulders, she turned her head back. "Ma? Pa? I'm heading out! Don't wait up for me." Without waiting for a reply, or at least, none that Rachel could hear, Kara turned back and accepted Rachel's hand.

Tightening her hold on Kara, Rachel guided her girlfriend off the porch and back across the land. After stopping right next to the Invisible Jet, the Halfa gently lifted the Kryptonian's hand and planted a soft kiss on her knuckles.

"Your chariot awaits, m'lady," Rachel cooed.

Kara's cheeks turned completely red as she released a hearty giggle. "My my, getting _fancy_ now, are we?"

"I try," Rachel answered with a shrug. She watched Kara's blue eyes beam into hers for a moment, and then she felt her sweet lips mold against her own. The hairs on the back of her neck seemed to stand on end as her heart performed a series of cartwheels.

"Rest assured," whispered Kara after they broke apart. "There'll be plenty more where that came from." With one last smile, she climbed onto the Jet and sat herself down.

Rachel followed soon after, but not before realizing that she was floating on cloud nine.

"I gotta admit I'm a bit surprised," Kara admitted, "how did Rachel convince you to tag along, Diana?"

Diana chuckled as she flipped a set of switches to reignite the Jet's engines. "Well, I was hesitant at first," she revealed, "but your girlfriend would not take no for an answer and would not stop pestering me."

"Oh c - come on, Diana!" stuttered Rachel, cheeks flushed. "I just asked _once!_"

The Amazon took a moment to laugh. Then she pulled on the controls; causing the Jet to levitate into the air. A few seconds later, the plane stopped gaining lift as the engines burst into life, propelling the three women towards their next destination.

* * *

The trip to Themyscira turned out to be quite entertaining as Kara seemed to be completely restless and could not bear to sit still for longer than a couple minutes. On several occasions, she would press her face to the window, hoping to see any sign of the Amazonian island. "Why can't we just teleport to the island?" asked the Kryptonian. "Wouldn't it be a lot faster?"

"There's magical barrier around Themyscira that keeps the teleporting signal out," informed Diana matter-of-factly.

"Oh, okay," replied Kara. She paused to ponder something for moment, "So then, when do you think we'll get there?"

"Kara," Rachel interjected, a little impatiently. "We'll get there we _get_ there."

Kara turned her head and gave her a rather innocent look. "This isn't about that!" Before Rachel could ask for clarification, Kara unclipped her safety harness and walked up next to Diana. After pausing for a moment to scan the control panel, she turned to the Amazon and said, "Sooo… mind if I take this thing for a spin before we land?"

In the back row, Rachel let out a soft chuckle and shook her head. To be honest, she should have expected that her girlfriend would ask such a question. After all, she had done the same thing on their very first mission.

"Kara," Diana began patiently, keeping her eyes locked to the front. "You're not even certified to fly a Javelin."

"Oh, come _on_," pleaded Kara, "just for a little bit, _please?_"

"Kara," repeated the Amazon, now turning to look firmly at the Kryptonian. "Why don't you prove that you can fly a _Javelin _first, and then we'll talk, okay?" With that, Diana turned back to face the front and Kara went back to her seat with a deep pout on her face.

"Hey," said Rachel softly. She reached out to hold Kara's hand. "Cheer up! At least she didn't say no." For reassurance, she gave her girlfriend a gentle smile.

Kara merely stared at Rachel's emerald eyes for a moment, before smiling back and squeezing her hand.

* * *

When the island home of the Amazons finally appeared into view, Rachel immediately turned her head with the hope of catching sight of Kara's reaction. Alas, all the Halfa could see was the back of her head. Although, judging by how Kara was facing her body against the glass, Rachel figured that her reaction was nothing short of astounded.

Maneuvering the controls with great skill and grace, Diana landed the Invisible jet at the very center of Themyscira. All around them stood enormous buildings made of white stone that seemed very well matched to the ancient ways of Greek architecture. What's more, directly in front of the Invisible Jet was perhaps the largest building out of all of them, and although Rachel had seen the outside of queen Hippolyta's palace before, she still could not stop herself from gaping at the sheer size of it.

Diana pressed the hatch release button again and the trio climbed out of the plane, where an entourage of Amazons, led by queen Hippolyta herself, stood waiting for them.

"Diana," addressed the queen in an elegant voice, "Welcome home."

"Mother," Diana replied before giving a courteous bow.

Hippolyta turned to gaze at Rachel, "And Miss Robertson. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"The pleasure's all mine, your Majesty," said Rachel respectfully. "And I want to thank you again for letting us be here."

"It is the least I can do after your involvement in Felix Faust's defeat." With that, the queen finally set her sights on Kara. "Ah, you must be-"

"Kara! My name's Kara," the Kryptonian blurted out, "I'm Rachel's girlfriend, but I go by Super-" She stopped when she noticed Hippolyta raise an eyebrow, and then she realize nearly everyone was staring at her. Kara instantly felt her cheeks burn with the intensity of the sun and quickly set off to cover her embarrassment.

"S - sorry," she said awkwardly. "It's kinda overwhelming being here."

There was silence for a brief moment. Then queen Hippolyta lowered her eyebrow and began to speak again. "I see… I have heard of your feats as 'Supergirl', and I must admit: you demonstrate exceptional prowess and even greater potential."

Kara's eyes widened at the queen's complement. "T-thank you!" she exclaimed. "That means an amazing deal coming from you, uh, your _majesty._"

Again, Hippolyta nodded, "Well, in any case, I hope you enjoy your stay," she turned to look at Diana, "and I am certain my daughter will serve as a formidable guide. Now if you'll excuse me."

Diana gave her mother a reassuring smile as the latter turned to leave with her fellow Amazons. Once the entourage began making their way up the steps to the palace, Diana stepped forward to address Rachel and Kara, "So, are you ready?"

In near perfect sync, the two young women nodded excitedly.

* * *

After several minutes of walking up a ridiculous amount of stone steps, Diana, Rachel, and Kara found themselves in a place that was teeming with amazons.

The very first thing that caught Rachel's attention was the crowd of female warriors huddled around in a circle. Judging from the incoherent sounds they were all making, the Halfa deduced that they were watching quite a spectacle.

"Hey, Diana, what's happening over there?" Rachel questioned, turning to the Amazon Princess.

Diana glanced at the crowd of her sisters before flashing a slight grin. "Looks like there's an impressive sparring match going on," she inquired, "let us go see _how _impressive." Without waiting for any answer, she began walking towards the crowd. Rachel and Kara exchanged brief looks, and then quickly made to follow.

Inside the crowd turned out to be a round pit of reddish-brown sand, and inside its perimeter were two amazons: one with a red bandana tied around her forehead, while the other had a blue one. The two warriors slowly circled each other like wolves looking for an opportunity to attack but at the same time, not wanting to give their opponent any advantages.

After several seconds, the amazon wearing the blue bandana made the first move. She drove her body into her opponent's stomach and wrapped her arms firmly around her waist and back. With a grunt of effort, Blue began driving the other amazon back.

Red, who initially seemed caught off guard, dug her feet into the sand. When she finally stopped sliding backwards, she cupped her hands together and slammed directly onto Blue's spine. Even as her opponent toppled over in pain, Red decided not to let up and drove her knee up onto Blue's chin.

The force of Red's knee caused Blue to whip back up to her feet in a daze. Before she could even regain a sense of her surroundings, Red snatched her by the front of her tunic and heaved her over her shoulder. There was another grunt of pain as Blue's back hit the sand. However, Red still did not want to let up. She whipped around quickly before mounting Blue's torso. Then, she proceeded to striking Blue's face.

Again and again, Rachel watched Red's fists find their mark; with each hit leaving the same audible 'pop'. The Halfa felt herself cringe as each sound penetrated her eardrums, and ultimately, she contemplated whether it would be necessary to ask someone to step in before things escalated any further. Before Rachel could finish her thought however, she noticed Blue digging her fingers into the sand and forming a tight fist. It did not take much thought to figure out what she was planning to do.

In a flash, Blue threw her hand up to Red's face, unleashing a shower of powdery sand into her exposed eyes. Red cried out in pain and instinctively covered her face with her hands. Blue saw this as the perfect opportunity to escape and retreat in order to execute the next phase of her plan.

Keeping her eyes firmly locked on Red, who was still squirming as she tried to clear the sand from her eyes, Blue reached for the back of her belt, and pulled out a small, bronze dagger. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, she gritted her teeth and charged.

Red swiped her hand hard across her face, and then finally managed to open her eyes, although her vision was minimal at best, it was still enough to see Blue swing her dagger towards her body. With a combination of training, instinct, and luck, Red lunged her body back just enough to escape the blade's touch. However, barely a millisecond had passed before Blue followed with her second attack. Acting on instinct again, Red deflected the blow, but she miscalculated, and the dagger slashed her upper arm. A loud grunt erupted from Red's throat as she clutched her wound and retraced several steps. Blue, realizing her advantage, charged forward again, determined to end this whole thing.

Blue closed the remaining distance between her and Red before swinging her dagger with all her remaining strength. Unfortunately, she never expected, even in her wildest dreams, that she would see her opponent's blood-soaked hand catching her wrist, stopping her attack dead in its tracks.

Using her pain and anger as high-octane fuel, Red jerked Blue's wrist violently to the side, making her yell and lose her grip on the dagger. She then sent a ferocious head-butt to Blue's forehead, knocking her flat on her back.

All Blue could do was lie there on the sand with her forehead throbbing endlessly. Then, before she could even think about moving, she realized Red was hovering directly over her. Only this time, _she_ was the one holding the bronze dagger, and was pressing it directly against her throat.

Even though Rachel knew the fight was over, adrenaline continued to pump through her body. She had never expected the amazons to take training _that _seriously, but she found that commitment to be extremely commendable. Red and Blue were fighting like their lives utterly depended on it. Even though neither of them had moved, the amazons surrounding them erupted into cheers and thunderous applause.

Rachel, Kara, and Diana gave their share of applause as well, but it died down when Kara spoke amongst the noise. "That was intense!" bellowed the Kryptonian.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed, "it really got my heart going."

"_That _was a staple of the Amazon way of life," remarked Diana. Rachel turned and noticed there was nothing but pride in the Princess' eyes. "We train how we fight, and sometimes, we do whatever it takes to achieve victory." Just then, a grin appeared on her lips. "Not to mention, such a training regime is quite effective at strengthening bonds."

Curious to know what Diana was implying, Rachel and Kara turned their attention back to the pit. There they noticed Red pulling Blue back to her feet. For a moment, the two warriors merely locked onto each other's gaze. Then, as though they shared a conscious link, they embraced each other.

Rachel grinned happily at the sight. She was amazed at the camaraderie Red and Blue had despite the fact that both of them were trying kill the other just a few minutes ago. The amazons truly were sisters in arms.

After Red and Blue broke apart, they began to make their way out of the sand pit. The other amazons soon began to fan out as well, and eventually, all that remained were Rachel, Kara and Diana.

"So where to now Diana?" asked Kara.

The Amazon Princess glanced away for a moment, a pensive expression on her face, "Well, you've seen our warrior side," she recounted. "So how about I show you our artistic achievements?"

"That's sounds great!" Rachel replied enthusiastically.

* * *

Diana led Rachel and Kara deeper into Themyscira and eventually into a building made of white stone that glowed in the sun. Once inside, they walked across the polished marble floor and found themselves standing directly before an enormous statue made of gold. In addition, there was an opening on the ceiling directly above the statue, allowing it to sparkle under the sunlight.

"Incredible," Rachel muttered, "and this must be…" she paused to get a good look at the statue, "Athena, right?"

"Very good," Diana nodded with a smile, "We are, in fact, standing in her temple. Whenever I seek divine wisdom, _this _is the place I come to."

"Hold on," Kara announced. When Rachel turned to her girlfriend, the Halfa noticed she was staring curiously at the decorated, golden slab in front of them. "Why is this empty? If this is a temple, Shouldn't there be an item here to represent that deity?"

There was a moment of silence, and then when Rachel turned back and saw Diana's expression, she could not resist the urge to chuckle, "Yeah, c'mon Diana. Shouldn't something be here?"

The Amazon Princess narrowed her eyes dangerously at the younger girls before answering their questions. "Fine, it is in this temple that I donned my armor and lasso, and became Wonder Woman."

"_Donned?_" Rachel echoed exasperatingdly. "Don't you mean _stole_?"

"Wait, you're saying she stole that?" Kara demanded, pointing at Diana's attire. "Wow, I never knew you were such a rebel!"

"The world was under attack and I did what I had to do to help!" Diana exclaimed. She was beginning to get annoyed at the younger girls ganging up on her. "Besides it - it's not as if I was using this armor to wreak havoc on the world."

Rachel and Kara merely looked at one another before sharing a laugh.

"Oh chill out, Diana!" said Rachel.

"Yeah, we get it," Kara spoke as she dragged a finger under her eye. "You helped defeat the Imperium and in doing so, led to the creation of the Justice League."

Diana sighed, allowing her shoulders to relax. "Alright, good to know we're on the same page. Now, there's one last place I want to show you…" her eyes drifted to Rachel and she addressed her directly, "but it is not easily reached by land, so you'll need to change before we move on."

"…Okay," the Halfa nodded after a brief moment, and then transformed into her alter ego.

"I am ready to go," she announced once the blue rings disappeared.

* * *

Traveling across the island by air was significantly faster and Rachel honestly felt dumb and embarrassed that she did not realize that sooner. After another thirty seconds in the air, Diana began making her descent towards a small clearing. Rachel and Kara were not far behind and together the three of them touched down on a cliff side that over looked the vast ocean.

"Will this spot work for you Rachel?" said Diana.

"Yeah, this will work great," confirmed the Halfa as she changed back into her human self. "Thanks Diana."

"It's my pleasure," the princess replied. Then she lifted herself back into the air, and began to drift away. Before she got out of earshot however, she added, "If you need anything, call me." She elaborated by tapping the communicator on her ear.

"Alright, thanks!" Rachel bellowed back. After waving goodbye, she took a few steps closer towards the cliff and took her rucksack of her shoulders.

"So…" Kara began slowly as Rachel bent over to open her pack. "What are we gonna do now?"

In answer, Rachel pulled out a simple blanket. "I figured we could just relax and have a picnic." She spread the blanket out over the grass and they sat down. Rachel pulled out containers filled with sandwiches, fruits, small snacks, and even plastic silverware out of her rucksack. Together, they ate at a steady pace, enjoying the savory flavors.

Once they had their fill of the main courses, Rachel took out another container and opened it to reveal several small ice cream cups. With a genuine sense of chivalry, Rachel allowed Kara to pick first before taking her own. By now, the sun was starting to descend towards the horizon, giving everything a view a faint orange hue.

"So," Rachel began as she turned to Kara promptly. "Have you been having fun so far?"

Kara beamed at her as she swallowed her scoop of ice cream. "No question, this place is amazing!" She turned her head to gaze out towards the horizon. "Though I think the most amazing thing was finding out that Diana stole the outfit she wears, and then ran away from home."

"Is that so?" asked Rachel curiously, scooping the last of her ice cream into her mouth. "Well, the world was in trouble back then. She just did what she had to do to help." A grin spread across her face when another thought came to her. "You kind of did that same thing, y'know?"

Kara arched an eyebrow at her. "I didn't steal _my _outfit."

"True," admitted the Halfa, "but you wanted to be a hero and did it the way you knew how. That's just one of many of things that make you so… '_Super_'."

"Wow…" Kara replied with a look. "I _cannot _believe you just made that pun!"

"Ugh, I know…" Rachel remarked in embarrassment.

"But hey, I can forgive that," Kara set her empty ice cream cup aside, and then scooted closer to Rachel. "After all, it's thanks to you that we got to share this day, in this beautiful place."

"Oh come on Kara, don't sell yourself short," Rachel suggested, her heart rate increasing due to their close proximity. "We're here because you beat me in that chess game."

"I know that," whispered Kara. She gently slid her hand up Rachel's arm before stopping on the crook of her elbow. The Halfa felt her breath hitch and gingerly pressed her lower lip between her teeth. "And I've never been happier at winning a game." In one swift movement, Kara used her other hand to grip the back of Rachel's head possessively, and pull her close. Rachel had just enough time to let out a soft gasp before their lips met in a deep and exhilarating kiss.

Everything around Rachel seemed to slow to a crawl as she kissed Kara back with blissful passion. The hand that rested on her arm moved upward to her shoulder and gently squeezed the soft flesh. Rachel twitched at the sensation, but did not let it hinder her as they continued to breathe each other in. The Halfa found herself wanting to mimic Kara's movements, but did not want to completely mirror them. Taking her left hand, she cupped Kara's cheek and placed her right hand over Kara's exposed midriff. Then she slid the hand over, dragging her fingertips over Kara's skin, and firmly squeezed her hip. A soft moan escaped Kara's mouth and the corners of Rachel's own mouth perked up at the reaction.

_Oh, Kara,_ Rachel thought softly. _I love you. _The sudden memory of her last, and arguably most important, objective made her reluctantly pull away.

Instinctively, Kara leaned her head further in an attempt to compensate for Rachel's retreat. She managed to catch her lips one more time before opening her eyes, staring intently. "What's the matter?" questioned the Kryptonian. She continued to hold Rachel in her arms, but her expression became creased with concern. "Rach? Is something wrong?" A frown fell on her face as a thought came to her. "Was it… something I did?"

"No… _Goodness _no!" The Halfa managed to stammer out. She gazed directly into Kara's perfect blue eyes, brushing her thumb over her warm cheek. "It's just that… I need to tell you something?"

"Oh?" Kara jerked her head slightly to the side, looking adorably curious. "Like what?"

Rachel felt her heart pound against her ribs. After shifting her gaze downward, she quickly worked on coming up with a way to finally confess her feelings. Alas, she came up with absolutely nothing. That was when Rachel realized that she had no choice but to be blunt. She took in a deep breath, and turned back to meet Kara's eyes.

"Kara… I-"

"Wha-? Oh, for the love of - !"

"Huh?" Rachel's nervousness and anticipation instantly turned into sheer confusion as Kara turned away, looking frustrated.

"Who the heck is calling me?" With a huff, Kara pressed on her communicator. "_Yeah! _Supergirl here," She tried to sound calm and collected, but Rachel could tell by her tightly furrow brow that she was having a difficult time. There was a pause before Kara spoke again. "Echo, I'm busy right now! Can't you send someone else?" There was another pause. "Well, tell J'onn that… wait…_what?_" Kara's expression fell almost instantly.

This prompted Rachel to edge closer and stared at Kara with anxiously.

"So tell me again, _what's_ happening?" demanded the Kryptonian. "… What do you mean they started attacking each other? " There was a third pause, and then Kara spoke so fast that Rachel could barely keep up. "Alright, _alright! _I'll be there. Just give me a moment to change." As soon as the last word left her mouth, she disconnected the call and, with blinding speed, snatched up her backpack.

"Kara?" Rachel asked as her girlfriend pulled out her signature white shirt. "What's happening? Who's attacking whom?"

Kara did not reply or, in fact, even look at her. She just remained focused on taking the rest of her Supergirl costume out of her backpack and laying it out next her. However, when she started to undo the buttons of her blouse, she looked up at Rachel, who immediately noticed the shock and disbelief in her eyes.

"Kara? What is going-"

"Clark and Captain Marvel are having an all-out fistfight!"

* * *

**Lexor City**

Once Supergirl and Beacon had changed and packed up their things, they flew past Themyscira's magical barrier, and were immediately teleported to the outskirts of the new addition to Metropolis. After securing their belongings around some bushes, the two young Leaguers flew into city to assess the situation. With just one glance, Beacon and Supergirl instantly realize that the damage was extensive. Fresh craters littered the streets while mere heaps of rubble were all that remained of several buildings. It was as though all of Lexor City was made out of simple playing cards. Although neatly placed, anything could come crashing down with the slightest nick.

"This place is like a warzone," Beacon commented. She took a moment to conduct another scan of the streets. This time she noticed hordes of civilians running for their lives towards the outer edges of the city. "The people are making their way out," continued the Halfa, "at least there's that."

Somewhere in the distance, there was a thundering bang followed by an eruption of dust. Then, to their horror, another office building collapsed to the ground.

"There they are," declared Supergirl, "Let's go, Rach!"

"Right!"

Superman felt his back slam against something solid and unforgiving. With a grunt, he crumpled to his hands and knees. However, his legendary invincibility allowed him to brush off any repercussions from the impact and get back to his feet. He set his gaze out towards the huge dust cloud at the other end of the street. Before long, Captain Marvel staggered into view. Superman snarled at the sight of the new Leaguer and quickly thought about his next move. Turning his head to one side, Superman noticed he was standing in front of a heavily reinforce steel door. He figured out what his next move was right then and there.

With both hands, Superman gripped the metal door and heaved it out of the wall. Amazingly, he managed to pull out an entire metal bunker. Superman maneuvered the giant metal container over his head and flew back out to the street. Once there, he honed in on Captain Marvel and slammed the bunker directly on top of him. The impact drove both the hero and the bunker into the ground, but Superman did not seem satisfied with just one hit. He lifted the bunker again, only to drive it back down a second later. Then he brought it up again, and slammed the bunker down for a third time.

"Superman!"

A girl's voice came in somewhere to his right and he turned. Slowing to a halt directly behind him were Supergirl and Beacon.

"What are you doing?" his cousin demanded.

"I'm trying to save this city!" replied Superman impatiently.

"Really? 'cause to me it looked like you were just smashing another hero to the ground!"

Superman shook his head at the snarky comment and raised the bunker over his head again. "_Kara, _I don't have time for this!" He then threw the bunker away, and sped off.

"Hey!" exclaimed Supergirl, "Wait!"

Beacon was just about to follow when she realized that, with the bunker out of the way, she could set her sights downwards in the hopes of finding out Captain Marvel's condition. A gasp shot out of her mouth when she could only make out the hero's arm stretched out underneath a layer of rubble. Without a second thought, Beacon descended towards the ground.

"Captain?" she called out, "Can you hear me?"

As though drawn to her voice, Captain's hand clenched into a fist and, a split second later, his entire body burst from the ground. Unfortunately, the young man was in bad shape. There were cuts all over his face and body, and his costume was torn in places.

"Hey, hey," Beacon gripped the Captain Marvel's arm as a means to steady him as he regained his bearings. "It's okay. Just relax."

Captain Marvel's eyes wandered for a moment, and then found hers. "Ra – I mean, Beacon?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'm here," the Halfa's face fell into a frown, "now would you mind telling me what's going on?"

"What makes you so sure that there's a bomb underneath this place?" Supergirl asked as she flew next to her cousin. Sadly, before she could get anything close to an explanation, she watched Superman dive down and drive himself through the solid ground. Supergirl let out a loud groan and quickly made to follow. She landed on a platform about a hundred feet below the surface and saw Superman intently scanning his surroundings.

"Clark! Will you just talk to me?"

Again, her cousin ignored her and leapt off the platform. Supergirl curled her hands into tight fists and she felt her blood beginning to boil. What was his problem? After terrorizing an entire city and fighting another Justice Leaguer, he _still _had the nerve to ignore her. She was not going to stand for this any longer.

Supergirl jumped off the platform, and with a burst of speed, eventually found Superman walking towards a flat wall. He cocked his fist back, but before he could smash through, Supergirl grabbed his arm with both of her own. "For Rao's sake!" she yelled, twisting Superman's arm to turn him around, "Will you _stop _for a second?"

Her cousin glared directly into her eyes. "Kara, I don't have a second; that bomb is in there, and it has to be stopped!" With a grunt, he slammed his fist into the wall, creating an opening big enough for him and Supergirl to walk through.

At the center of the room was a large machine. A timer attached to its side had just reached a minute and forty seconds, whatever that machine did was going to happen soon. Superman took another step towards the machine and narrowed his eyes, willing them to emit his trademark heat vision.

Just before red-hot beams fired however, the intangible forms of Beacon and Captain Marvel flew through the ceiling and landed directly before Superman. When the two heroes completely reverted into their normal states, Captain Marvel doubled over, clutched his arms, and began shivering violently. On his other side though, Beacon only had eyes for Superman.

"Get out of the way, Rachel!" barked the Man of Steel.

"Wait!" Beacon replied quickly, holding her hands up, "If this thing really _is _a bomb. Don't you think heat vision might set it off?"

"It won't matter if it kills us _all!_"

"Then let me examine it!" As the Halfa said it, her holographic interface appeared in front of her eyes. "Clark, please, it will just take two seconds."

Superman peered at her dangerously before crossing his arms over his chest. "You have _one,_" He growled.

Beacon did not need any other coaxing. She whipped around to face the machine and began scanning it. Streams of diagrams and text popped in and out of her interface but she still managed to decipher all of the important information. "Okay, that goes there…" she muttered under her breath, "…this piece is the main driver… but where's the…? Oh, wait a minute!"

"Rachel?" asked Supergirl, "What'd you find?"

Beacon turned back to face her fellow heroes and deactivated the interface. "This machine is not a bomb at all," she informed. "There's no detonator inside or out."

Captain Marvel and Supergirl stared at the Halfa in surprise. Superman, however, looked completely flabbergasted. "T-That's ridiculous!" he stammered, "maybe – maybe there _is _a detonator and Luthor just disguised it!"

Beacon's eyebrow shot straight up in disbelief. "What, you want a second opinion? Fine." She reached for her communicator. "Echo, do you read?"

In no time at all, the familiar synthetic voice spoke back to her. "_Affirmative Beacon. How may I be of assistance?_"

"I'm sending over some specs I found. Can you look through them and tell us your analysis?"

"_Acknowledged, specifications received; scanning now… scan complete._"

"Alright, patch the others in and tell us if you found anything like a bomb."

"_Very well… The specifications showed no indication that the device is explosive_."

"WHAT?" yelled Superman.

At that moment, the timer on the machine reached zero and it roared into life. A loud whirring sound echoed throughout the entire room as a turbine began spinning. A few seconds later, the lamps above them flickered on, eliminating every trace of darkness.

"I – I don't understand," Superman muttered.

Echo's voice reappeared in their ears. "_The machine is an energy generator that uses Kryptonite radiation as its fuel source. Given the longevity of the material, the energy output can be sustained for a considerate amount of time._"

"S – So, it's exactly like Luthor said," said Captain Marvel, who seemed to be still feeling the effects of being intangible.

"You okay?" asked a concerned Beacon, "sorry, I did warn you it'd be cold."

"Ye – yeah," Marvel shivered, "but – but not _this _cold!"

Beacon let out a soft chuckle before turning to address the two Kryptonians.

"Come on, let's head back to the surface."

* * *

When the group Leaguers made it back to the surface of Luxor City, a swarm of reporters immediately rushed in and bombarded them with endless questions, most if not all of which were only directed towards Superman. Looking at the Man of Steel, Beacon noticed that he was hanging his head slightly, and looked utterly defeated. In all honesty, Beacon could not blame him for feeling that way, but she knew he needed to take responsibility for his actions.

After another minute that seemed like ten, Superman looked up and, coincidentally, found himself face to face with Lex Luthor. "I – I'm sorry," he admitted in a low voice, "I - I didn't-"

Before he could finish, Luthor shook his head. "If anyone should apologize, Superman, it's me. I shouldn't have tried to keep the free power a surprise." He paused to look gloomily at his surroundings. "Given the circumstances… I should have known better."

"Of course…" Superman sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "Of course the Justice League will… pay for the damage."

Again, Luthor shook his head. "Oh no, I won't allow it," the billionaire looked to the ground, and picked up a severed head of a statue. "This one's on me." He concluded with a frown. With that, Luthor stepped off into the night, ignoring the flashing cameras and any questions from the reporters.

Beacon's eyes remained locked on the departing crowd until a movement from her left made her shift focus. She turned just in time to see Supergirl stalk directly before her cousin. Her girlfriend's chest was heaving and her face was twisted with seething rage.

"You two," hissed the Blonde Kryptonian, "a word… _now._"

Superman and Captain Marvel could only blink nervously.

* * *

Supergirl wasted no time as the four of them reached the outskirts of the city. "Just what were you morons thinking?" she demanded loudly, causing both men to jump at the abruptness of the question, but Supergirl ignored them and pressed on. "Because of a misunderstanding both of you wreaked havoc on the whole place!" She gestured towards the remains of Luxor City. "Never mind the destruction of property, you two put innocent lives in danger! Worst of all, you two _ruined _our date!"

Both Superman and Captain Marvel merely stared at Supergirl with dropped jaws. Then one by one, they turned over to look at Beacon. The Halfa looked between the two men and her girlfriend for a moment, and then cleared her throat. "Don't look at me, guys. She's right. I think the best thing to do right now is for you two to apologize and really learn from all this."

At Beacon's suggestion, Superman and Captain Marvel simultaneously turned their attentions towards each other. Then, after a moment of silence, Superman spoke first. "Look, uh, Captain, I'm… really sorry about how this whole thing turned out. I had a lapse of judgment, and you and the rest of the city paid the price. I – I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." To demonstrate his desire to make peace, he offered his hand to Captain Marvel.

The Captain took a moment to simply stare at Superman, and then, with a nod, he accepted the hand and shook it. "Of course, sir, and I, uh," he chuckled nervous, "I'm sorry for knocking you around. You just kinda ticked me off."

A small smile appeared on Superman's face as they let go of one another. "Now that you mention it, you did land some good hits. Who knows, maybe one day you'll knock me out with one punch."

Captain Marvel laughed. "I prefer not if I could help it. Honestly, I never want this to happen again." His face suddenly turned serious. "Can I ask a favor, sir?"

"What is it?" questioned Superman, arching an eyebrow.

"I understand Luthor's history makes it... hard or even… impossible for you to trust him. But please understand that I'm not like that; I believe in second chances, for _anyone _and _everyone_."

Superman peered directly into the Captain's eyes, and noticed they were as firm as his invincible skin. "Fair enough," he replied, "I respect your point of view."

"Thank you," Captain Marvel nodded.

Superman returned the nod before turning to find Beacon and Supergirl staring at them. "Kara, Rachel," he addressed, "Sorry for ruining your guys' date."

While the Halfa expressed a small smile, his cousin's expression still had some heat from before. "Good night, cousin. I'll forgive you tomorrow."

Again, Superman nodded. Then he shot into the air, and flew out of sight.

"So, uh…" Captain Marvel began, drawing attention to himself. "I think I need to go home too. It's getting late and frankly, I – I'm exhausted."

Beacon could not help but grin at the Captain's innocent remark. "Alright, but before you go, can I just say that you're really brave for standing up for your beliefs. I think you're the kind of person the League needs; you keep us honest."

Even under the dimness of the night, Captain Marvel's blush was still clearly visible. "Gee-whizz, I, uh… I don't know what to say besides… Thank you."

"You're welcome! Have a good night, Captain."

Captain Marvel smiled. "Actually, I'm off-duty right now. Call me Billy… Well, see you tomorrow."

Beacon's grinned broadened as Captain – Billy – took his leave into the night, leaving the Halfa alone with Supergirl.

"I think he has a crush on you," whispered the Kryptonian.

Beacon chuckled and turned to her girlfriend. "If he does; that's on him." She paused to steal a quick kiss. "I already have someone, and she can be _very _scary when she wants to be."

Supergirl lightly thumped Beacon's chest, "Oh very funny… I just needed to blow off some steam, that's all."

"Oh, I'm sure… Now what do you say we get outta here? I'll take you home."

Supergirl beamed into her eyes. "Let's go then…"

* * *

**Kent House, Smallville**

In a shimmer of white sparkles, Kara and Rachel, back to her human self, materialized in the middle of Kara's bedroom. Together, they walked hand in hand over to the bed, and sat down on the edge. Kara slipped out of her boots and unclipped her cape, draping it over her backpack, which she leaned against her dresser.

"Thank you for today," said Kara, eyeing Rachel intently. "It was wonderful."

The Halfa gave her girlfriend a tender smile, and then reached for her hand. "I'm glad to hear that," she replied. "I just want you to be happy."

Kara returned the smile, squeezing the hand that held hers. "There _is _one last thing I want to know though."

"What is it?"

"What were you going to tell me back on Themyscira? You know, before Echo called me?"

Rachel felt her eyes widening involuntarily as the thought came back to her. "Oh… that's right…" she felt her cheeks grow hot and her heart pounding against her chest.

_This is it,_ she thought. _It's now or never. _

"I – I was going to tell you that I've come to realize something," the Halfa began, staring straight into the Kryptonian's eyes. "But I wanted to wait until today to tell you because I thought today would be the best time." She reached out with her free hand, and cupped Kara's cheek.

"Kara… I love you."

For what seemed like an eternity, Kara just stared at Rachel. However, a soft reply eventually broke the eerie silence. "I love you too."

A loud gasp came out of Rachel as her heart leapt into her throat. A mixture of surprise, excitement, and sheer joy ran through her entire body, eliminating any of the fear and anxiety she felt a barely a few seconds ago. The Halfa leaned closer and lightly pressed her forehead against Kara's. "You – you really mean that?" In response, she felt her girlfriend wrap an arm around her waist and pull her in for a warm, velvety kiss.

"Of course I meant it!" Kara panted.

"Alright, I just wanted to make sure," said Rachel after a hearty giggle.

"Stay with me tonight?"

"… I don't have my PJ's though," Rachel admitted. "You're okay with me being in my street clothes?"

"S - Seriously?" Kara huffed impatiently. "I'm in bed with my work clothes! You really think I care about what_ you're _wearing?"

"Point taken," Rachel chuckled, taking off her own shoes and unzipping her hoodie. They shared one more kiss before letting themselves fall onto the mattress. As Rachel pulled the covers over their bodies, Kara rested her head on Rachel's shoulder and draped her arm across her chest.

"Goodnight… my love." Kara said one last time before her eyes drooped closed.

Rachel slowly combed her fingers through Kara's hair and planted a small kiss at the top of her head. "Goodnight, Kara," she whispered. "Sweet dreams…" It was not long before sleep came over her as well.

Everything, at that moment, seemed right in the world. The couple began their date together. It was only fitting that they _ended_ their date together.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed that! If you have any comments, I would love to read them.**

**See you all next time! **


End file.
